Welcome to Konoha!
by Shadow-whispers
Summary: Kate was a normal anime/manga loving teenager. Before being transported to Konoha! Relationships shown in the next few chapters! AU R&R [ON HOLD.]
1. Prologue

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**~* Warning contains spoilers for the up to date manga!!!*~**

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Three o'clock. Friday 17 July 2009. The last lesson before the summer holidays. All the student's eyes were glued to the clock above Ms. Clarke's desk. All the eyes except those of one seventeen year old girl by the name of Kate Shepard. Her chocolate brown eyes were instead submerged in the sketch book that lay flat on her desk. Pencil in hand she carefully marked the paper in her individual manga styled characters. Gently she placed her pencil back on the desk and pulled a fine liner out of her pencil case. She started to ink the eyes ever so tenderly. The air was suddenly filled with whispers of excited teens.

Five. A slim delacate link to highlight the glimmer in the eye.

Four. A thicker line for the eyelashes.

Three. A dark center to illustrate the pupil.

Two. Several wispy lines for detail.

One. Steady, simple line shading.

DDDRRRIIINNNGGG!!! The class was empty in a matter of moments while the teacher attempted to remind the students of their summer homework. An exhausted smile crossed her face as she watched them leave in mass. Then she saw Kate putting away her things, she always seemed to be the last one out as she hated the rush. Finally Kate headed for the door.

"See ya Miss, have a nice holiday!" She called as she strolled down the corridor towards the buses.

"You too Kate!" Ms. Clarke chimed back.

Soon Kate was sat in her usual place on the 240 school service bus. The loud frenzied shouts of younger school children consumed the bottom deck. Being the only person in non-uniform on the lower deck singled her out as a 6th former and a bus monitor. For those who don't know, a 6th form is basically a collage that is on the same grounds as a secondary school. You have freedom to wear what ever you want but you have to start paying bus fares, unless you are a bus monitor. She remained silent until a year seven that was sat behind her lent forward and tapped her on the shoulder. Slowly Kate turned around and faced her twelve year old step-sister, Momo. Kate had given her the nickname and Momo seemed to like it so everyone began to call her it.

"Yes Momo?" Kate asked with fake enthusiasm resounding in her voice.

"Kate will ya go to the shop with me?" She asked with vigour.

"No." She replied shortly. Then Kate proceeded to turn around again.

"AAWW why?" She asked persistently.

"Because you ask me every day, so fuck off!" The conversation ended. This was a regular conversation that the two shared almost every bus journey that occurs on the way home from school.

Ten minutes later the pair entered their home. They lived in a relatively small village. In a relatively big house to accommodate all the family members that dwell within it. As she opened the door Kate was met by the icy stare of her step-father. Her gaze fell to the floor as she scurried into the kitchen. The scent of pork chops and chips wafted through the air. Kate hurried up the stairs to her bedroom and she slowly crossed the war zone that was her room floor as she made her way to her single bed to dump her school bag and books . Then she recrossed the wasteland to get out of her room, not missing the several plugs that were face up and just happened to be where ever she placed her bare feet. Rushing down the stairs Kate knew that she couldn't go on the family laptop until they had all finished tea and had done their chores.

Once again in the kitchen Kate sat down at the dinning room table with her younger sister, Krista and her older brother, Drake. Then her step father entered the kitchen wearing his apron as he served their tea. Then Momo came down and sat at the table talking and eating with the rest. A small blue car pulled into the drive as Kate's older step brother Mitch returned from work. Also her cousin Tim who was slightly younger than her came and sat at the table. They all chatted about nothing particularly important for most of the time that they were sat and also making quip remarks when the opportunity arose.

After tea was over the monotonous chores began. Washing the plates and all the utensils involved in preparing the food was up to Kate, drying was up to the others. The advantage to a relatively large family is that most of the work is done quite quickly if every one co-operates and doesn't attempt to sneak away. Only after the parents were pleased that everything had been done could everyone disperse to their rooms. Kate rushed to the shared laptop in the utility room that she shared with Krista.

_Just a couple more chapters and i will be up to date!_ She thought to herself excitedly as she sat on the old worn swively chair. Soon she was submerged in the Naruto universe. _Aw, Sai is sooo sweet, he really does want to be Naruto's friend. Will Naruto and Konohamaru ever grow up? WHY THE HELL IS DANZO HOKAGE?!?!?! HE SUCKS SOOO EPICALLY!! Yay! Gaara! He is sooo awesome._

After finishing the latest chapter Kate wandered up to her room.

"Krista! The laptops free!" Kate called to her sister before disappearing into her room. Two large round pale blue eyes looked up at Kate from a bright laptop screen. Kate shared her room with her youngest sister, Momo. [Kate was the only one that wouldn't lay a finger on her, unless you count poking, but that doesn't count so they shared a room.] Kate then collapsed onto her bed making a soft thud. She then grabbed her sketch book from her school bag and began to draw her favourite characters from Naruto. Gaara was in the middle, then it was Sai and Hinata was in the background. A smile crossed Kate's face as she placed a fourth outline next to Gaara. After a few more moments there was an manga version of herself stood smiling brightly next Gaara. After several hours of random discussions and many illustrations the tired looking head of Kate's mother poked through the door.

"Bedtime girls" Adela smiled.

" Alright, did you have a nice day at work Mum?" Kate asked as she tidied away her drawing utensils.

"It was good i got a few clients." Adela replied exhausted. She worked as a alternative therapist using oils and needles to cure people aches and pains. She had a placement at an army training barracks on a Friday so having to fix strapping young soldiers sometimes took it out of her. That was why Kate's step father, Darin did all the cooking.

"That's good... sweet dreams Mummy" Kate said wanting her to rest. A weak smile passed Adela's face as she silently closed the door. Kate snuggled down into her warm duvets. Although it was mid July and really warm Kat had two duvets on her bed just in case it went cold in the night and if not she would just throw off the covers in her sleep. Soon Kate drifted into the lands of her subconscious.

The bright new morning sun rays danced on Kate's closed eyes. A small moan escaped her lips as she slowly rose from her previously comfortable position. Her eye lids half covered her tired brown eyes. Her bare feet gingerly made contact with the floor below as Kate walked on instinct into the bathroom. After the toilet flushed Kate rushed out of the small room and looked at where she had just awoken from. This room was not hers. There was only one bed and the floor was visible! She quickly stepped out and realised that she was in a single person apartment. Whilst still in her pajama's Kate hurried out of the building and into a street. She looked around and saw familiar buildings but she knew that she had never been there before. Suddenly a shadow passed above her. Looking up Kate could not believe what she had seen. There were people leaping from rooftop to rooftop in many different directions. She spun around and realised where she was.

"Oh my god! You have to be kidding me!" She said to herself as she looked up at the imposing Hokage building. "I'm in fucking KONOHA!"


	2. Wake up time

Kate looked around her. It was definitely Konoha, absolutely no doubt. A bright smile crossed Kates lips.

"This is the best dream EV-!" She was quickly cut off by some one slamming into her and the two of them a couple of feet up the street. They landed in a heap, he happened to have been cushioned by Kate... Lucky him. Her eyes opened and looked at the stranger on top of her. His large sparkling cerulean eyes stared at her until she finally shoved him beside her. Sitting up she nursed her throbbing head.

"Are you ok? I am really sorry Dattebyo." The boy said. Kate looked up at him and saw that it was none other than her favourite protagonist Uzumaki Naruto! Although he looked slightly different from the manga that she had recently read. For one he looked a little older and he wasn't wearing his famous black and orange track suit. No he had an white shirt and orange shinobi trousers that draped over his sandals. He also had a cloak on that was orange and had black flames at the bottom of it. His hair was longer and more like Yondaime's. However his bright slightly dumb smile was the same as in the manga. Then something occurred to Kate. If she was dreaming then why did her head hurt so much? She looked at the hand that had been clutching the area of her head that ached and saw blood on her hand. Hot, thick, crimson blood.

"Crap..." She said as she looked back at Naruto. She scrambled to her feet and ran into the house that she remember she had come out of. Facing into her room she scoured the flat for first aid. Naruto's figure could be seen standing in the door way as he looked worridly at Kate.

"Need any help?" He called to her. She didn't stop to answer him as she ran into the tiny bathroom. Opening the cabinet she found the small green first aid box. She pulled it open and found some aniseptic and bandages. After she had finished dressing her wound Kate stepped out to see Naruto stood in the tiny living room. He turned as he heard her enter and smiled. Slowly she sat on the small couch keeping her eyes directed at Naruto.

"Ok, so let me get everything straight here." Naruto looked at her strangely but let her continue. "You, are Uzumaki Naruto? and we are currently in Konoha?" He smiled and nodded at her.

"How could you not know where you are?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, I know where I am. It is simply the fact that the place I know we are just happens to be impossible." Kate said as calmly as she could muster.

"What do you mean?" He questioned as he sat down beside her. As he did she stood and moved to a further part of the room.

"I mean that you don't exist! None of this does!" As she spoke she backed up to the wall and slid down it onto a heap on the floor. She began to shake violently and curled up into the fetal position. Naruto rushed over to her and lifted her up in his strong arms. He placed her in her bed and pulled the covers over her. He then did the only think he could think to do, go ask Sakura for help.

After ten minutes or so Naruto returned with Sakura having explained the situation to her. She quickly went to Kate's side and did an examination of her. Soon Sakura finished and stood.

"Her chakra levels are low, strong but low. She needs some rest and should be fine." She then looked at Kate and back at Naruto.

"Hey who is she any way? I don't recognise her."

"To be honest I have no clue who she is, she seems to be about our age but I don't know her." Naruto looked over at her again. "I'm sure I would remember a bald girl who was in our class." He said bluntly. Naruto swiftly received a severe blow to his head from Sakura.

"I know what you mean but you could word it better!" She exclaimed.

As you may have guessed Kate was in fact bald. Her hair had fallen away when she was only nine years old. Many circumstances had caused this but that story is for another time.

"Naruto, you go and do what ever you were doing before and I will look after her. You can come back later if you want but your loudness will not help." Reluctantly Naruto left Kate alone in the flat with Sakura. her soft green eyes watched over Kate as she slowly drifted to sleep.

Two hours later Kate awoke and sat up in her bed. She felt the bandage on her head so knew that she hadn't woken to find it was all a dream. Then Sakura's head popped out from the kitchen and she walked in carrying a bowl of ramen. Kate noticed that Sakura also looked different from the manga. Her hair was long running half way down her back. She was wearing a red kimono styled top with an exposed belly and a konoichi skirt with white leggings. She sat a the edge of the bed handed Kate the bowl along with some chopsticks. Slowly Kate ate the ramen, slowly mainly because she was terrible with chopsticks, and then looked up at Sakura.

"Erm, Sakura. You know earlier you said that my chakra levels were low?" Sakura nodded. "How do you know that I even have any?"

"Every one has chakra inside them." She replied softly.

"So why isn't every one in Konoha a shinobi then?" Kate asked curiously.

"Well, being a shinobi is not only about the amount of chakra a person has, it is the control. Some people can't access it so are unable to be shinobi."

"Appart from Rock Lee" Kate chimed inbetween mouthfuls.

"Yes. So, how is that you know mine, Naruto and Lee's names?" Sakura asked.

Several noodles sliped from Kate's lips as she tried to think of a reason why she would know so much about them. She sighed and decided that all she could do was tell her the truth.

After giving Sakura her life story, quite literally, she awaited her response. Sakura looked at her disbelievingly. Kate rolled her eyes as she gave her examples of things that were told in the manga about Sakura that the other characters didn't know.

"Oh my god! You're serious!" Sakura exclaimed. "So what should we do then?"

"I would actually like to enjoy my time here. Meet all my favourite characters and maybe even become a shinobi!" Kate said excitedly.

"But remember it takes years of training." Sakura reminded her. Kate then calmed and thought to herself.

"Well I'm sure that after I learn the basic's it would be a breaze as I know loads of cheats from the manga!" Kate persisted.

"Fine, but I can't do it. I have to work tomorrow. I'll see if Naruto is up for it." Sakura smiled. "Ok, I have to go. I will come and check on you tomorrow."

With that Sakura dissapeared through the enterance of the flat. Kate then snuggled down in her bed imagining possible things that could happen the next day. _I wonder if I will ever meet Gaara..._She then slipped into a quiet sleep.


	3. Chakra control and meeting the Hokage!

The next day Kate awoke to the sound of three loud thuds on the door. Groggily she slipped out of the bed and stumbled towards the door. She opened it only tiny bit so she could see who it was. A flash of orange blurred past her into the flat. She landed on the floor with a bump. Steadily Kate stood and looked over at Naruto.

"So are you ready to start your training?!" Naruto asked enthusiastically. Kate looked at him and said nothing. She looked down at her pajama's and gave him the 'does it look like I'm ready for any sort of training?' look. Naruto smiled his famous smile and walked into the kitchen leaving Kate to change. Then Kate wondered if there was anything for to change into. She was wearing the pajamas that she fell asleep in at home so would she have any clothes at all? Kate walked over to the wardrobe that was tucked into the corner of her small room.

The doors swung open easily and Kate stood looking at the seemingly random assortment of clothes. Finally she pulled out a black tank top that had netting sleeves and black band cuffs. Then she found some blue three quarter lengths and pulled them on. On the desk next to wardrobe there were a pair of fingerless gloves that she soon put on. Kate then went into the kitchen to find Naruto tucking into one of the cup ramens that were in her cupboards. He smiled at her finishing the last sip of soup that was in the bowl.

"You look like a real shinobi." He said as he began to head out side.

_Thanks... I think..._ Kate thought to herself. She followed him all the way to the training grounds. As they walked Kate barely contained her excitement as she saw all the things that she recognised from the manga. Then she looked up at the hokage mountain. She stopped and stared at it for several minutes before Naruto noticed and walked back to her.

"That's... Kakashi! He became Hokage! He is soo much better than that bastard Danzo!" She exclaimed mostly to herself but Naruto replied.

"Yea, He became Hokage about a year ago." He smiled then lead her in the direction that they were originally heading in. Soon they arrived and Naruto turned to face Kate.

"Ok lets start then. First of all I need to see if you can actually use your chakra. You do it like this... " He said as he made a hand symbol. Blue chakra built up around him as he concentrated. Kate watched enthusiastically. Naruto then stopped and looked at Kate expectantly. She then twigged that it was her turn so she made the hand sign and closed her eyes to concentrate. After several minutes absolutely nothing happened. Kate's arms dropped as she tried to think about what she was doing wrong. She then had an idea. Kate walked over to a large rock and scrambled on to it. She sat and looked at the training grounds. It was mainly grass and sand, there where tree's that lined the entire area. Also fences with only one gate as an entrance and exit. Crossing her legs Kate closed her eyes and made the hand symbol again. Slowly she began to block out the sounds that surrounded her, the many strange bird songs, the breezy wind, the clashes of weapons in nearby training area. Soon Kate had built and invisible barrier between her and the world.

She opened her eyes to see that she was surrounded by the purest of white. There was absolutely nothing apart from Kate. Then she sensed the presence of something else. It felt familiar but strange at the same time. It was behind her. Slowly Kate turned and saw a tiny pool of crystal clear blue water. Crouching down Kate's slender finger gently touched the top of the small puddle. No ripples appeared from where she had placed her finger. Instead she felt invigorated. The Glimmering water climbed up her finger and encased Kate's entire body. Blinking once Kate opened her eyes to see Naruto's face a little too close for comfort. She pushed him away with out thinking and he fell head first off the rock. She leaned over the edge to see if her was ok. It seemed that his awesome shinobi skills came in handy as he landed on his feet. He looked up at Kate and motioned for her to come down. Kate quickly complied and she scrambled back down the large cold rock. She looked up at Naruto as she only just noticed that he was quite a bit taller than her.

"You managed to do that really quickly..." Naruto looked both intreaged and frustrated. "Kate, come with me..." NAruto then walked out of the gate and down the path towards the hokage building. She stood watching for a few moments wandering if he had done something wrong but thought it would be better for her to stay with him so she didn't get lost. Kate soon caught up woth Narutgo but he didn't seem the cheery character that he had been but a few moments ago.

_Maybe I really did do something wrong..._She thought sadly. Minutes later they arrived at the large door that seperated them and the Hokage. Naruto knocked on the door and awaited a reply. Kate looked up at him, _I thought that he would just barge in... maybe he is older and wiser... in fact that would explain a few things..._ Kate's thoughts were interrupted by Naruto opening the door. She hadn't heard a reply but she had been daydreaming so she assumed that there was one. The room looked exactly as it did in Kishimoto's manga. Every single detail was correct. Although the desk was covered in scrolls and papers that seemed to have been piling up like that for some time. Then she saw Kakashi sat in the chair behind the desk. He lent forward and his elbows rested on the papers, wrinkling them.

His silver hair seemed a little longer but other wise the same style. He still wore his mask covering his face but he was not wearing his headband, showing off his scar and sharingan eye. He also was not wearing his famous traditional jonin attire but in stead had the traditional Hokage robes on. The Hokage hat was sat on the edge of the chair.

Kakashi then stood and approached Naruto and herself. He took Naruto off to a side and they had a quiet chat as Kate stood watching and wondering what they were saying. The two men then turned to face Kate. She stood up straight as she felt slightly awkward with them just staring at her. Kakashi smiled under his mask and sat back in his chair. He motioned with his finger for Kate to come forward. She complied quickly and practacally ran up to his desk. He stared at her for what seemed like forever before saying anything to Kate.

"So, both Sakura and Naruto tell me interesting things about you. Not only are you from a different world but you are able to summon your chakra after only two attempts. You have never done it before Naruto taught you, am I correct?" Kakashi watched her carefully as she answered.

"Yes, that is right." However it was not completely true. One or two times had tried to do justus at home by making the hand signs and saying things like 'Kagebunshin no jutsu' however being in the Naruto universe seemed to be awakening Kate's potential. Kakashi looked at her skeptically or at least thats the expression Kate thought he was doing. His mask made it harder to see his expressions. Unlike in the manga where everything is outlined.

"Ok, Kate was it?" She nodded and he continued. "Can you tell me somthing thing about me that no-one else would know?" Kate thought about the perfect thing to tell him and a smile crossed her cheeks.

"When you died, after fighting Pain, you sat down by an open fire and talked to your father. The white fang of Konoha. After talking to you he said that he could finally move on and be with your mother. Then Pain's justu brought you back to life." Kate said simply. Kakashi's eyes widened as she spoke as he had never told anyone about that experience with his father. His composure then returned and he walked over to Kate.

"Naruto will you go outside for a few moments please." Kakashi asked with authority in his voice. Naruto was about to argue but then walked out of the room. After he left Kakashi looked down at Kate. "You are a very interesting person Kate. You know things about Sakura and I that we have never told any one before. I also have no doubt that if I asked any one in here you would probably know many things about them too. This could pose as a threat to the village as you also are most likely to know many secrets of this village." This was in fact true as well. "However, your ability to grasp chakra control, no matter how minor, so quickly could be a great advantage to our village as you will probably be able to grasp many justus in a small length of time. So I shall have Naruto continue to train you physically until you are of Genin rank." Kakashi then sat back down at his desk once again. "I will also have Sakura teach you the mental aspects of being a shinobi, even if you know them already." He lent on his desk again, his fingers intertwined together and he rested on his hands. "Go now and get used to the village. You are not however allowed to leave the village unless you are accompanied and I am informed before hand. Do you understand?" Kate nodded. She did under stand why he was doing this. In fact he would be foolish if he didn't have her under someone's watch.

"Ok, thank you Hokage-sama." She bowed to him like in the manga and then left the room. Naruto had been waiting outside and rushed back into the office as soon as Kate had left. She decided to take a walk to see if she could get home on her own. She left the hokage's building after about fifteen minutes of trial and error searching for the exit. Once she was finally out Kate looked up at the office window and saw that Naruto and Kakashi were still talking. After she shrugged Kate wandered around the village mentally noting all the buildings and land marks that she remembered from the manga. For one she knew that her apartment building was at the bottom of the street that ichiraku' ramen stand happened to be.

Kate wander around the village aimlessly. She now remembered most of the roots back to her 'home' and the initial magic of being in a fictional place soon wore off. Also Kate was a little annoyed that she had not seen anymore of her favourite characters. In fact she had seen anyone for a little while now. Kate decided that it was probably late so she headed back to the apartment. Slowly she opened the door and flicked on the switch. The room stayed dark. Kate looked over at the switch and flicked it a couple more times. Still nothing. She sighed heavily and walked blindly into the flat. Kate checked all the lights but none of them worked.

_Great... _She thought to herself. Kate fumbled about in the darkness untill she eventually found her bedroom. She striped and changed into her pajamas. Leaving her clothes crumpled on the floor she slowly got into the bed and drifted to a peaceful sleep.


	4. Training begins and mistakes made

The moon shone brightly that night, although you would not know it. Dark shadowy clouds descended blanketing the entire village in darkness. The gentle thuds of shinobi on the prowl could be heard on the rooftops. These shinobi were not from this place, no, they were on a mission. To identify and capture one stranger that had been kept secret from all the other shinobi villages.

Kate was in a deep slumber when they expertly opened the locks to her apartment. She did not hear them walk through the small rooms, nor did she hear them enter where she was sleeping. She was blissfully unaware of the impending danger that she was currently in. One of the shinobi pulled out a clean white rag, dripping with chloroform. The rag hovered over her lips for but a moment before a sudden glint of a kunai shot through the wrist of the shinobi making him cry out in pain. Kate awoke and seeing that she was surrounded leaped out of bed towards the door. However they were faster and better trained, quickly catching up to her. A scream escaped her lips as their cold hands grasped one of her arms.

A sudden burst of orange and black exploded through the window and began to disable each intruder. Soon they were all sat in the middle of Kate's bedroom tied together with rope. Naruto was crouched tightening the ropes when Kate went over to him.

"Hey, Naruto. How did you know that they were in my room?" Naruto suddenly stiffened as he attempted to think of an excuse. Finding he could think of none that were convincing enough he told her the truth.

"Well, Kakashi told me to keep an eye on you. You know so much and can't really defend yourself so you're an easy target for enemy shinobi villages." Kate looked at him skeptically but accepted his answer.

Kate looked over at her clock. 03:00 am. _Great. I'll never get back to sleep. _Kate could never go to sleep after midnight. She could sleep through it bet never after it.

"Hey Naruto. Can we do some training?" Kate asked hopefully. She would rather do something usefull with her time then lay about waiting to be attacked again.

"Sure if you want. More chakra control?"

"Can we do some ti jutsu training too?" Naruto nodded. Kate asked him to leave for a few minutes so that she could change. He stood in the kitchen and waited patiently. He thought about the things that Kakashi had told him and wondered if it was really possible. If Kate could really be... The door opened and Kate entered the kitchen in her shinobi gear. Naruto smiled and they walked out of the flat towards the training grounds.

It only took a few moments to get to the training area as Naruto had them run silently. However Kate wasn't exactly silent but it was to be expected of one who had done no training. When they got there Naruto told Kate to sit on the rock that she had been on before. Kate complied and sat quietly.

"Ok Kate. Tonight I want to see if you can do a simple transformation jutsu." Kate looked at Naruto skeptically.

"You don't want me to do the 'Sexy jutsu' do you? Because that is really gross." Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously.

"Oh, you know about that huh? No, I want you to transform in to... Me!" He decided happily. Kate sighed and stood. She looked up at the shining moon, it was still hanging in the sky and radiating light from its beautiful form. It was true, Kate loved the moon. When ever she looked at it she felt stronger, better and happier. Closing her eyes Kate made a hand symbol and concentrated.

Once again Kate found herself surrounded by white light. She looked up and saw the moon. For some reason, it could enter her mind. Then the cool sensation of water was at her feet. She saw the chakra puddle but it was no longer a puddle. It had become a small pool. Not too deep or wide but there was more than before. The chakra encased her body again and altered her form.

A sudden white cloud surrounded Kate. Naruto watched astounded. He had not even shown her the hand sign yet. The smoke cleared revealing a perfect duplicate of Naruto.

"Did I do it?" Kate asked. Almost perfect. She had changed her appearance but still sounded the same. Naruto smiled and patted Kate on the shoulder. Then his eyes changed. The glimmer disappeared. He gripped her shoulder, dragged her to the edge of the tall rock and released. Letting her fall. Kate's eyes dilated as she saw Naruto become smaller as she fell. Turning the ground was fast approaching her easily broken self. She closed her eyes and waited to crash into the hard dirt. After a few moments of not feeling pain Kate opened her eyes. She saw that she had landed crouched with her hands steadying her. Kate stood and saw Naruto before her looking stunned. Running she gripped his jacket.

"What the hell was that?! Naruto answer me!!" Kate demanded.

"You have amazing reflexes!" Was all that he was able to say. He seemed to be in a daze staring straight through her. Anger boiled inside Kate. Pulling back her arm she punched him full in the face. Naruto stumbled backwards and seemed to return to his normal self.  
"Sorry Kate I don't know what happened..." Naruto's gaze drifted to the ground.

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_[Flash Back]_

_"Naruto, if she is who we think she is... Kate could be in real danger. You must test her. Three simple tests, you must do this. For her own good as well as the rest of the village. She has already completed the first test of knowledge, she is a quick learner and knows thinks that she shouldn't. You must next test her physical abilities, reflexes, adaptability, persistence and strength." Kakashi walked over to the window over looking Konoha. He looked down and saw Kate walk past. Naruto went over and stood next to the Hokage. Both their eyes followed Kate until she was out of site._

_[End Flash Back]  
_

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Naruto looked back up at Kate.

"Do you want to continue with the training?" Secretly he hoped that she would give up. Then he would know that the tests were no longer necessary. Kate stayed silent for a few moments, seemingly considering her options. Then she looked back at him with a gleam in her eye.

"I am not going to stop my training. I want to enjoy this while it lasts. But if you try that again you will regret it." Naruto sighed, he knew now that it was going to be true. Although he had to be certain, so the testing had to be completed. Naruto nodded and Kate readied herself.

"Ok Kate time to teach you some moves!" Naruto said beginning to show her some ti jutsu forms.

The first light of dawn painted the lands with streams of coloured light. Kate and Naruto had now been training for three hours. Beads of sweat appeared on the skin of both student and teacher. Kate had taken in the forms quickly and the two were now freestyle sparring. Although Naruto was winning Kate managed to hold her own during the course of the match. Naruto then struck Kate square in the stomach sending her flying. Kate landed quite gracefully in a crouched position. She stood and then charged back at Naruto. The evidence of their sparring match was obvious by the state of their clothing and minor injuries on their skin. Their strikes moved so quickly you wouldn't believe that Kate was only a beginner. She managed to block most of his blows but some got through her defences, however the same was true for Naruto, it just happened less often. The sound of clapping stopped the two as they turned to see the source of the interruption.

In the shadow of the trees a figure stood applauding the sparring match that he had just witnessed. Feeling that it was the right time to reveal himself the figure stepped forward into the light of the new day. There stood someone that Kate immediately recognise although she could hardly believe it. _The fangirls would have a field day with this._ Kate thought absent mindly. Although she couldn't explain it, there he was. Sasuke.

Naruto imediatly ran over and began to chat with his old friend. Kate however was stood like a statue. _What the hell?! How much have I missed? I knew that they all seemed older but-_ Kates thoughts were interupted by a memory. Something Naruto had said. _"Yea, He became Hokage about a year ago."_ Kate then began to wonder how far ahead of the manga this place really was. _I wonder if they are the same age as me? Naruto kinda looks seventeen but he doesn't act like it. Then again I don't know any seventeen year old guys that act their age. They are either too mature or Naruto._ Kate suddenly was bought back to earth by the presence of some one close to her.

Kate stiffened and turned slightly to see Sasuke walking slowly around her. He kind of looked like he was inspecting her. He then stopped next to Naruto and spoke to him so softly Kate couldn't hear what they were saying. She gave them a looked of confusion and then Naruto began to speak.

"Oh. Kate this is-" Kate then interupted him bored with people telling her things she already knew.

"That is Uchiha Sasuke. The last of the Uchiha clan apart from Madara who helped Itachi destroy the clan." Kate then slumped to the floor with her back on a tree. It had only just occurred to her how tired she had become. Her body was not used to any form of movement apart from the flicking of manga pages, typing on keyboards and walking to the fridge and back from the sofa. She closed her eyes and sighed. The sun was warm on her skin and she could see a red glow behind her eyelids. Then the glow disappeared leaving black. Kate opened one eye and saw that Sasuke was crouched directly in front of her. His eyes showed a glimmer of intrigue but nothing else was present. She jumped in surprise and yelped a little.

"So you do know things that you should not." He stated calmly.

"Erm, have you ever heard of personal space?" Kate remarked nervously. Sasuke smirked and stood back. He then turned to Naruto and said some from of goodbye and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Kate wondered when he had returned. Kate noticed that he was still taller by Naruto, but only by a small amount now. Also his hair was basically the same but longer. He wore a jonin jacket and looked like he had just jumped out of a piece of fanart. "Hey Naruto" Kate called. He walked over and sat next to her.

"Yea" He leaned on the tree with his arms behind his head.

"When did Sasuke come back?" Naruto looked over at Kate.

"I thought that you had all the answers." He smirked. Kate looked at the ground.

"My knowlage only goes up to just after Pain destroyed Konoha." Naruto closed his eyes and looked very comfortable.

"Oh, so you are about two years behind then." Naruto smiled and Kate looked up at him.

"So you are seventeen then?" Naruto nodded and continued.

"Danzo had given the order for Sasuke to be killed. He had been a missing-ninja for over three years, so it seemed logical at the time-" Kate suddenly interrupted.

"So what happened?!" Kate leaned towards Naruto subconsciously wanting to know more.

"Lets just say that I managed to convince him to return. He had two major goals when I first met him. One, to avenge his clan. Two, to rebuild said clan. So I convinced him that if he destroyed Konoha then he couldn't do that. It took alot to convince him though. We fought several times before he came home. In fact he only came back recently, after Kakashi became the hokage. Now Sasuke is working to rebuild his clan and their status. Although it seems that no one in the village is good enough for him. I even heard a few rumors that the head of Hyuuga clan offered him Hinata, to mix the great clans and to see if a new more evolved kekkei genki would from but... Sasuke refused. He knew that Hinata did not want him and he had no real desire for her." Kate sat up and rested her head on her hands.

"So how does he plan to do anything if no one is good enough. Oh well." Kate then stood up. "I'm really hungry and i really wanna try the famous ichiraku ramen." Naruto jumped up at the mention of ramen and began to walk. Kate began to follow but then stopped. _That reminds me, I need a job._ Kate then went to catch up with Naruto. They walked together in silence as Kate was deep in thought. "Erm, Naruto on second thought I think i might just go home and eat whats in my cupboards." Naruto smirked and looked down at her.

"You don't have any money do you?" Kate smiled and looked up at him.

"Nope not a penny!" Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Ok, because you are new here I'll pay for you." Kate smiled.

"Thanks Naruto. Hey do you think you could help me find a job?" Naruto's smirk widened.

"Sure, at the pace your going you could be a fully fledged genin by the end of the week." Kate stopped at stared at the back of his head.

"Are you serious?!" She asked disbelievingly. He stopped at gazed back at her.

"Well yeah, now come on I'm starving!" Naruto continued to walk. Kate grinned happily and practically skipped over to Naruto. Then when she was side by side she stopped as she felt like a pillark.

Soon they arrived at ichiraku's ramen stand. It was now roughly eight in the morning and they were just opening up. Kate imediatly recognised the old man and his daughter. They sat down on the stools and ordered two bowls of miso ramen. It was done in a matter of minutes and the pair began to dig in. The streets were quite busy with people getting along with their lives just walking past. Then another person entered the food stand. When I say another person I mean another person and his dog. Kiba sat down next to Naruto and ordered a bowl.

"Whats up Naruto?!" He asked happily. Naruto slurped the last of his ramen and the responded.

"Hey Kiba. Oh nothing much. We were just training." Kiba's eyebrow raised.

"We?" He leaned back and looked at Kate. The then sat back in his stool.

"Whos that? I don't recognise him " Kate then began to choke on her ramen after Kiba spoke. Naruto spun around and gently patted her on then back.

"This is Kate. She is new to Konoha." Naruto corrected him. Kiba then looked horrified.

"I am really sorry I just didn't realise." Kate stared at the counter blankly.

"It's ok, I get that alot..." Kate then stood and walked out of the shop. Kiba slapped his forehead with his palm.

"Shit! I seriously didn't realise. I just assumed she was a guy 'cuz of her..." Kiba pointed to his scalp. "You know-" Akamaru whined a little at Kiba.

"Never mind Kiba. Just try not to do it again. Thanks old man!" Naruto left some money on the counter and followed after Kate. Kiba stayed slumped over his ramen. _What kind of name is Kate any way..._ He grumbled to himself.


	5. Growing strength

Naruto combed the streets of Konoha looking for Kate. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop trying to find her. Finally He saw a figure sat of the roof of Kate's apartment building. There was no doubt that it was her. Quickly Naruto sped towards her. Silently he landed of the roof behind her and walked towards her. Although he made no sounds Kate glanced at him and then continued to stare at the Hokage mountain. Naruto sat down next to her and tried to see what she was looking at.

"Its hard to be different, isn't it Naruto?" Kate stated.

"Sometimes" He replied distantly.

"Although, you couldn't really tell you were that different just by looking at you. I mean, yeah, you have the whisker marks but that's about it. Nothing that people notice straight away." Kate looked down at the people in the streets. "They have no idea what it feels like to be isolated." Naruto looked at Kate and then down at the people.

"No. They don't. But being different makes you stronger, prepares you for things that they would never dream of." As he spoke he pointed down at the villagers. The glimmer in Kate's eyes seemed to disappear as she spoke.

"You know, when I was eight years old, my dad died. Heart attack. I don't even remember him but it had a huge effect on me. A year later, when I was nine, I lost all of my hair." Tears began to swell in her dulled eyes. "How is a little girl supposed to deal with that?" Naruto wrapped his arm around her as she lent on him. "I hid behind wigs, always being afraid of what people might think." Kate then removed herself from Naruto's grasp and stood up. "When I was fifteen I realised something, something really important." The sparkle returned to Kate's chocolate eyes as she spoke. "I realised that I really don't care, people's opinions, I realised that I could change them!" She looked down at Naruto. "Its just little set backs that seem to hurt the most." Naruto smiled at her.

"Well, at least you figured it out." Naruto stood up and began to walk towards the fire escape.

"Hey, where are you going?" Kate questioned.

"Sakura gets off in about ten minutes so I was gonna wonder up to the hospital and see what she was doing for the rest of the day." Naruto smiled brightly and Kate nodded slowly.

"Ok, we can continue with training later then." She then walked past him so she could go to her flat.

"So, you don't want to train with Sakura?" Naruto asked confused. Kate span on her heal and grinned.

"Really? Wow, I wonder if she will teach me how to be mega strong!" Kate said whilst punching the air. Naruto snickered to himself as she did so. Kate saw this and stuck her tongue out at him. Naruto retaliated by doing that same. They then both burst into laughter and headed over to the hospital.

When they eventually got there Sakura had already signed out and was walking back to her home. Luckily Naruto spotted her and called over to her. Sakura smiled, waving at them and waited for them to catch up.

"Hey Naruto, Kasumi. Have you finished your training already today?" She asked almost singing, she seemed incredibly happy. Kate cocked her head to the side as she stared at Sakura.

"Er, my name's Kate. Remember." She stressed the Kate as she spoke. Sakura looked a little shocked but returned to being creepily happy.

"Oops, anyway did you guys want something?" Sakura continued.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you would help me train Kate. Kakashi asked you before right?" Sakura shook her head but agreed to help with Kate's training.

Later on, the three were at the training area. Sakura was teaching Kate about the mental aspects of being a shinobi. Naruto was sat up on the large rock that Kate seemed to favour. He watched as the girls worked and Sakura seemed amazed at how quickly Kate was picking things up. Naruto thought back again to when Kakashi had spoken to him and wondered if he had put Kiba and Sakura up to trying to provoking Kate.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_[Flash Back]_

_"Naruto, if she is who we think she is... Kate could be in real danger. You must test her. Three simple tests, you must do this. For her own good as well as the rest of the village. She has already completed the first test of knowledge, she is a quick learner and knows thinks that she shouldn't. You must next test her physical abilities, reflexes, adaptability, persistence and strength." Kakashi walked over to the window over looking Konoha. He looked down and saw Kate walk past. Naruto went over and stood next to the Hokage. Both their eyes followed Kate until she was out of site. Kakashi turned back to Naruto.  
"The final test, is to try and invoke her. Make her angry, sad, happy. See how emotional extremes effect her." Naruto looked reluctant. "Naruto, if we confirm our suspicions we have to do it quickly. It is unfair of Kate to keep this sharade going on any longer than it should. Naruto, her entire life up until now could be a total lie. We- she needs to know."  
_

_[End Flash Back]  
_

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Naruto looked down at them again. Sliding over the edge of the rock, Naruto landed silently on the ground. Sakura looked up at him and nodded, she told Kate to continue with her studies while she spoke with Naruto. Kate agreed.

"So, what do you think?" Naruto asked in a hushed tone. Sakura kept her gaze on Kate while she spoke.

"I think that Kakashi was right. But which emotion do you think will awaken her?" She pondered. Naruto face flickered with slight anger.

"If she is who we think she is then we shouldn't be doing this." Naruto tightened his fists causing his knuckles to turn white. Kate looked over at the two as they spoke. Sakura then turned to Naruto.

"I have an idea, at the rate that she is going Kate will be a genin by the end of the week" Naruto nodded and she continued. "Well, if we take her on a mission then we can see what happens when put in a dangerous situation. What do you think?" Naruto looked at the ground, he knew that this was a bad idea.

"Ask Kakashi, if he approves then I will go." Sakura smiled and headed back over to where Kate was studying. Naruto knew that Kakashi would approve. Although he would never admit it Naruto secretly wanted it to be true. That was the only reason why he continued with the tests.

Several hours later, the tree of them headed back from the training area. Kate had absorbed all of Sakura's teaching and learned, what would have taken anyone else years, most of the mental concepts of being a shinobi in one afternoon. All she really needed to do was a little more chakra control and she would be able to do real justus. Her tijutsu skills were advancing just as rapidly. Sakura soon split from the group and walked in the direction of the Hokage's office. Naruto sighed and knew what she was going to do.

Kate was in a very good mood, she was amazed with herself that she was able to learn things this quickly. _If only I was like this when I was at school, my god Ms. Clarke would be over the moon... instead of chasing me for six month old homework._ They soon arrived at Kate's falt and she smiled.

"I'll see ya tomorrow yeah?" She then disappeared inside the doorway. Running up the stairs Kate decided that she wanted a nice hot bath and then she would see what was left in her kitchen.

Naruto could hear the sound of running water as he walked away from the building. He passed many people as he walked but did not respond to their greetings. His mind was riveting with possible scenes of the mission that Kakashi was sure to send them on. Eventually he made his way back to his home and flopped onto his bed. _What am I going to do?_ He thought before he drifted into sleep.


	6. Her first mission!

A week later. The Hokage's office. A brand new Konoha headband hung loosely around Kate's neck. A bright smile was plastered on her face, she was ecstatic, Kate had become a genin in roughly two weeks. Within the first week she had got all the basics and in the second she had even learnt a couple of jutsus. Naruto and Sakura stood either side of her all looking in Kakashi's direction. Kakashi stood from his chair and smiled at Kate, she assumed it was a smile, he then began to speak.

"I have to say Kate I am impressed." He said although he looked as bored as usual. " Now that you are able to take on missions I am assigning you three to a simple task." He walked over to his chair and sat back down, he leaned forward and opened a file. "All I wish for you three to do is-" He paused and looked at at Naruto as he seemed frustrated with waiting. " you three are going to Suna and will report to the Kazekage." He paused again and pulled out a scroll. "This is far too important to be sent by messenger birds. You must take this and give it to Gaara yourselves."

Kate silently nodded as she took in the information. However in her mind she was jumping around crazily. Gaara was her favourite character and now she got to meet him! Sakura responded with a simple, 'Yes Hokage-sama.' Where as Naruto lurched forward at Kakashi and grabbed his collar.

"It's a long way to Suna! We could get attacked and Kate isn't ready yet!"

"Hey!" Kate interrupted but was ignored.

"Naruto, that is why I am sending both you and Sakura along as well." He poked his head around so he could see Kate. "Don't worry these two will keep you safe, also it's a brilliant opportunity for Kate to practice her skills." Naruto released his grip and turned to Kate.

"Come on Naruto, How dangerous can it get?" Kate smiled. Naruto nodded slowly and headed for the door. Before he left he glance back at Kakashi with daggers in his eyes. Kakashi knew why and made a hand gesture to signal for them to all leave.

They had an hour to get ready before they were to meet at the village's main gate. Kate rushed home and grabbed her things, she was extremely excited. Her first real mission with the bonus of meeting Gaara! She placed all the things she needed in her backpack and looked around her room making sure that she had remembered everything. Once satisfied Kate left the flat, locking the door behind her. She rushed over to the gate to see that Naruto and Sakura were already there, arguing, Kate couldn't make out what they were saying and they silenced as soon as she was in earshot. Sakura smiled at her while Naruto looked annoyed and folded his arms. Kate laughed nervously and asked in any thing was wrong but Sakura assured her that nothing was wrong.

The team then set out for the Land of Wind.

**________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Sorry about it being so short but this is just an inbetween chapter. ^^ I'll have more up soon. Please enjoy and review.  
**


	7. Meeting Gaara

Several days passed as the trio wearily trekked towards the shinobi village, Suna. There had been no enemy attacks and Kate was slightly disappointed. They could just see the village emerging from the horizon. They were only a couple of hours away now. Kate was getting more excited with every step she took closer to the village. Both Naruto and Sakura noticed her sudden increase in chakra. Naruto wondered if she had any idea about what was going on. Kate looked up at the sky, it was cloudless and a beautiful glittering blue. A single bird flew in the sky, its cries echoing in the canyons that defined this landscape. The bright blazing sun dazzled Kate's eyes and she directed her gaze once again to the village before her.

They arrived at the gate in good time and were greeted by the guards warmly. They smiled happily at Naruto and Sakura but when it came to Kate they stared at her wearily. Sakura showed them their papers allowing them into the village. The gates opened and they entered quietly. They then headed directly to the Kazekage's office. Naruto seemed to be in a rush to finish the mission and go home. Kate couldn't figure out why as everything seemed normal. As they climbed the stairs they came across Tamari and Kankuro discussing something to do with the upgrades for the villages defences. When they saw them approach they smiled and greeted the team.

"Sup' Naruto, Sakura and... who are you?" Kankuro asked bluntly. Tamari swiftly batted him on the back of his head with her hand as she told him to be more polite. Tamari looked at her warmly.

"Sorry about that. So what's your name?" Kate was a little taken back. Tamari was now twenty years old, her hair was still in four pig tails but they were long and smooth, only spiking at the bottom. Kankuro looked pretty much the same but his make-up was a little different and he was alot taller than Kate.

"My name is Kate."She said whilst standing behind Sakura. As a character Kate never really liked Kankuro. He was a bit weird for her tastes, he wore strange make-up and his puppets Kate also found a bit bizarre for her liking. She didn't really seem to mind Tamari so much, sure she was a little over confident but sometimes that was a good thing. The siblings could see that Naruto was becoming inpatient so they finished with the pleasantries and let the group they watched Naruto, Sakura and Kate leave Tamari leaned over to Kankuro and whispered.

"Hey, Kankuro. All the times that we visit the leaf, did you ever see her? She looks roughly the same age as those two and wears a headband but..."

"But something seems out of place?." Tamari nodded. "I know what you mean, there is just something we don't know."

Soon they arrived at the Kazekage's office. Sakura knocked gently on the door and she heard a firm 'enter' from the one inside. Slowly Sakura opened the door. Naruto entered first, then Kate and lastly Sakura closing the door behind her. The stood in a row in front of a large desk piled high with important documentation, a little like Kakashi's but more organised. Behind the desk the Kazekage sat wearing his hat, his face was covered as his head was tilted down while finishing something that he had been writing. He then placed the brush down and looked up at them. A smile crossed his face when he saw Naruto stood before him. His first friend, as Kate recalled, apart from his Uncle but that didn't count because he was lying to Gaara. He then noticed the new face and looked at her with intrigue in his calm emerald eyes. Sakura then quickly elbowed Kate in the side prompting her to inroduce herself to him. This however didn't help as she just turned and demanded to know why Sakura had just elbowed her. Sakura's palm clasped her forehead as she then grasped the back of Kate's head and forced her into a bow.

"I apologise for her rudeness Kazekage-sama-" Kate relinguished herself from Sakura's clutches and stood with her arms folded.

"My rudeness! You are the one that elbowed me! Besides what is the point in me introducing myself is all you need to know about me is in the scroll." She said pointing at Naruto's backpack. They all stared at her. Then finally Sakura spoke.

"Kate, did you read it?" Kate rolled her eyes.

"No, I didn't, but it's easy enough to guess. I mean come on. I know more than I should and I have learned faster than any other shinobi. So what else would Kakashi want to talk to Gaara about? Seriously." If Gaara had eyebrows, at that moment they would have raised. As it was the change in his facial expression wasn't barely noticeable. He then stood and walked over to Kate. He was only a little taller than her, maybe a couple of inches, as he stood he looked at her up and down wondering what was so spacial about her. Gaara then turned sharply to Naruto and put out his pale hand expectantly. After slipping off his backpack Naruto quickly fumbled around inside locating the scroll Kakashi had given him. Once he found it Naruto handed it over to Gaara. He quickly returned to his desk and opened the sealed scroll. As his eyes scanned the content he seemed to be surprised by what it was telling him. Finally he looked up, his eyes locked onto Kate, burning into her. Then he spoke.

"Tell me Kate, what do you know of tailed beasts?"

"What?" Her voice was so small, she even surprised herself.


	8. Secrets of the scroll

Kate stood staring at Gaara. Both Naruto and Sakura's eyes drifted to the floor. Silence drifted through the room. Gaara then continued.

"Anyway, I take it that you have at least heard of them." Kate nodded distantly. "Well, this scroll is the documentation for the legendary, Ayame the white ten tailed wolf. According to this she was a giant white wolf, she was wise and even tempered. Apparently she was the only ten tailed in existence-" Kate then interrupted.

"Wait! I thought that there were only one to nine tailed beasts. Since when was there a ten tailed beast?!" Her head was swimming. This scroll, did this mean what she thought it meant?

"The legend surrounding Jyubi is that she was the mother of all the other tailed beasts. However, her children were so savage she turned away from them and went deep into the mountains feeling regret for setting loose such evil. A few hundred years passed as she slumbered in her chosen exile. The humans evolved and created the shinobi villages to protect themselves from the tailed beasts and other countries. Ayame then had a vision of a great war in which her children would be harnessed as weapons. The destruction was to be colossal, so great that humanity was not to recover. So she decided to go to a village that she felt would help her try to stop this divination. Ayame quickly arrived at Konohagakure and found it to be a thriving place of happiness and prosperity. It was relatively new and the First and Second Hokages were still watching over the village. When she arrive she sat at the main gate and asked if one of the guards would bring out the leader of the village. The towns people and guards were only simple people and were terrified that she had come to devour the Hokages and tried attacking her to make her leave. She did not retaliate and simply waited for the Hokages. By the time they were finally called she was covered in the tiny scratches of the weapons that had been used against her.

"The people were told to stand down and the three of them went a little away from the village to talk. The two men were wise enough to know that her presence at the village would mean that something was going to happen, something she didn't want. They spoke for a long time. Ayame finally told them that she was to choose a newly born child from the village to be her Jinchūriki. They asked if there was anyone in particular she wanted and she nodded. She said the in the vision she was in the body of a girl. Ayame told them to take her to the hospital, she knew that the child's mother had died in child birth and the father had already died of pneumonia a month before the child's birth. Only one child fitted the description. The girl was brought out of the hospital and presented to Ayame. She nodded and said that this was the girl. The child had large glittering chocolate eyes, pale pink skin, thin wisps of brunette hair on her head and a star shaped birthmark on her left ankle. The girl was called Kasumi."

Gaara temporarily stopped reading and looked up at Kate who was looking pale. Her eyes slowly drifted down to her feet. Protruding from her left shinobi sandal was a small patch of darkened skin. Crouching down she peeled away the sandal to reveal a six point star birthmark. I was no bigger than a fifty pence coin. It had never bothered her before but now it proved she was something she had never even dreamed of. She then thought back and realised that they already knew, Naruto and Sakura already knew and didn't tell her!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Flashback]

_Sakura smiled, waving at them and waited for them to catch up._

_"Hey Naruto, Kasumi. Have you finished your training already today?" She asked almost singing, she seemed incredibly happy. Kate cocked her head to the side as she stared at Sakura._

_"Er, my name's Kate. Remember." She stressed the Kate as she spoke. Sakura looked a little shocked but returned to being creepily happy._

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Another Flashback]

_Naruto smiled and patted Kate on the shoulder. Then his eyes changed. The glimmer disappeared. He gripped her shoulder, dragged her to the edge of the tall rock and released. Letting her fall. Kate's eyes dilated as she saw Naruto become smaller as she fell. Turning the ground was fast approaching her easily broken self. She closed her eyes and waited to crash into the hard dirt. After a few moments of not feeling pain Kate opened her eyes. She saw that she had landed crouched with her hands steadying her. Kate stood and saw Naruto before her looking stunned. Running she gripped his jacket._

_"What the hell was that?! Naruto answer me!!" Kate demanded._

[End Flashbacks]

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kate looked at the two shinobi stood either side of her.

"You both knew didn't you." She stated in a monotone. Silently they nodded. Gaara then cleared this throat announcing he wanted to continue.

"Anyway, now where was I?" You could see the indentaion of his finger as he traced back to where he had paused. "Ah, here we go!" He exclaimed happily. "Now, _mumble mumble_, The girl was called Kasumi. Ayame looked at the girl and nodded, confirming she was the correct child. With her giant claw she drew a large circle in the dirt, she then drew many symbols and told the Hokages that this was one of the ways to seal a tailed beast. Usually it cost one life to seal a tailed beast, but Ayeme was old and wise and knew many things that humans didn't. She sat down in one part of the seal and asked for the child to be placed on the symbol she showed them. Before starting the ritual she turned to the men.

" 'Now, you must know that her time will not come for a while. So you are to place her in a genjutsu, one that I have designed and will slow her aging so she will be in prime condition when she is needed.' Ayame nudged a large scroll towards the men and told them to follow the instructions exactly. Then her attentions turned back to the child and the seal glowed a bright white. In a flash the giant she-wolf disappeared leaving a sleeping child in the dirt. On the girls stomach was a white glowing seal. It resembled the 'Yin and Yang' but had other small symbols surrounding it. The Hokages then took the child to of the newest apartment building that was in Konoha. They took her to a room and placed her in the bed that was far too large for a new born baby. They noticed that the girl had never cried and was looking up at them with innocents in her eyes. Then they saw the reflection of Ayame's face deep in her pupils.

"They opened the scroll that Ayame gave them and looked at the intricacy. It was a large and difficult genjustu. The two Hokages then constructed the largest genjutsu that had not been matched to this day, they created a world for the girl to grow up in, Earth. She was to live in a place called England, with a large family and even able to see into the real world using a clever use of manga. Ayame wanted to know what was going on in the world. The girl then came to be called Kate and suffered through the many deaths on her 'father's' side of the family including him. The sadness in the world created for her gave her strength and character. Although it caused deep scars that would never heal.

Exactly one year before the great civilisation ending war, Kasumi would awaken and learn how to become a shinobi and use the demon mother inside her." Gaara then closed the scrolled and sealed it back up. Gently he placed it on his desk. He wove his fingers together and waited for her to speak. Instead she stayed silent. Her lips moved but nothing emerged. Her legs finally gave way and she fell onto the floor. Quickly she sat up and gingerly pulled her tank top up. She examined her stomach. Her slender fingers fumbled around attempting to find some trace of the seal. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other sadly. Gaara motioned for them to come closer.

"Take her to go get some sleep and we will see how she is in the morning." He summoned a sand shinobi and told her to take them to a nice place they could get a room and rest. She nodded and opened the door for them. Naruto crouched down and carefully scooped Kate up and followed the shinobi with her in his arms. Sakura quickly followed bowing before she left. Gaara waited for the doors to close and looked out his window. He sighed heavily and felt sorry for Kate. Her entire world has turned out to be a genjutsu and she also is the Jinchūriki of Ayame, the mother of all tailed beasts. Although he could not help smiling when he thought about Kate when she first came in. She was to confident and witty. He hoped she would recover quickly. A slight blush tinted his pale cheek, although she had no hair, he found her strangely attractive and his heart warmed when she thought of her. He looked at the dull crescent moon and wondered what he was feeling.


	9. Call me Kasumi!

Kate sat alone in the room that she had been provided, her trembling arms were wrapped around her knees and her head was rested on top. Her eyes were dulled and silence engulfed her. The room was dark and plain. It was only a simple room with a bed, a small set of draws and a built in wardrobe. A slight stream of bright light invaded the room and Sakura peeked her head through the door. She sighed and the door closed.

"She hasn't moved in three hours. She has not said a word or anything." Sakura looked up at Naruto. "What are we supposed to do?" Naruto smiled his doofy bright smile and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I'll go and talk to her. I can relate to her, so it will be fine." His expression softened. Naruto walked past Sakura and gently knocked on the door. Nothing. He then opened the door and turned on the light. The room was filled with sudden light but Kate didn't flinch, she stayed exactly the same. Quietly he went over and sat next to her. Nothing.

"Kate... I know this must be hard for you... but you arn't alone you know. Although you may already know, most Jinchūriki are raised being hated and abused by the people around them. Ayame, she protected you from that. Yes she gave to things to over come, but if she didn't you would be a completely different girl. One who I probably wouldn't like as much." Naruto blushed a little and hoped that she hadn't noticed that last thing he had said. Kate stayed silent. Inside her mind however was loud and riveting with memories that never happened.

Kate's group of amazing friends. They were kind of crazy but they saved her from so many things, boredom, lonliness, . Her school was quite big and the teachers were okay. was Kate's favourite. She was so kind and always willing to help Kate if she needed it. The internet. Hours of Kate's life had been used in front of a bright screen. Writing fanfictions, watching AMV's on youtube, posting on anime forums. Then there was her family. Sure they annoyed her sometimes and she harboured a deep loathing for her step-dad but the thought that they wern't even real. She would never see her hard working mother's smile, or her cheeky sisters, or her amusing brother ever again.  
Kate knew that if she was to survive in the world that turned out to be real, she needed to severe all connections she had with her world. She could no longer live a lie.

Naruto looked into Kate's eyes.

"Kate... please say something Kat-" She then turned her head towards him. Her eyes were sharp and her body was no longer trembling.

"Call me Kasumi!" She said with a smirk on her face.


	10. Contact

"Naruto looked at Kasumi with a surprise in his cerulean eyes. She seemed to have reverted to the way she was before she had found out the truth. As it turned out Naruto was not the only Jinchūriki of Konoha, Ayame the jyubi was inside of her. Kasumi had lived an extended life under a genjutsu and had just recently been released from it. She had accepted her role and history quickly and taken her birth name, Kasumi. A smile crossed her face and she looked at the blond boy before her.

"Hey, Naruto I'm gonna get a shower can you get out of my room." She said calmly with a content expression on her face. Naruto nodded and quickly exited the room. Gathering a towel and clothes to change into Kasumi left her room, walked across the small living room where Naruto and Sakura were sat and entered the bathroom. She placed the towel on the rail and stripped. Kasumi then turned the handle causing steaming streams of water to thunder down to the base. Gingerly she stepped into the hot water and closed the white lily patterned curtain.

The water streamed down her newly toned pale skin. Her shimmering brown eyes were closed under the shower as she allowed the water to beat down on her exposed back. Kasumi had decided that as the dirt and grit from the journey washed away, so did her previous illusion of a life. All evidence of Kate would just wash away. She then began to scrub her soft skin with scented soap and looked down at the six-pointed-star birth mark on her left ankle. She looked at her slightly toned stomach, bare of any signs of a seal.

_**I am sorry**._ Kasumi's eyes darted open, peaking her head around the curtain she saw no-one else in the room. Then in the corner of her eye she saw something. Looking down at her stomach she saw it. The glowing seal. It did resemble the yin and yang but the other symbols where foreign to her.  
_**I am sorry that it had to be so sudden. This is the way that it has to be**._ The female voice spoke again. She sounded like an experienced woman but not old or frail, maybe late thirties early forties. The voice resonated with authority although it was soft and gentle.

"Who said that?" Kasumi asked confused. She was still alone in the room.

_**You know who I am. **_Her eyes drifted down to the glowing seal.

"Ayame?" A soft chuckle echoed in Kasumi's mind.

_**Yes child, I am Ayame.**_ Kasumi quickly exited the shower and wrapped the towel around her exposed self.**_ Look child, make yourself comfortable I am not going to harm you. I am going to help you._** Kasumi hurriedly dried herself and pulled on the silk dressing gown she had brought with her. After tying it adequately she went to the mirror above the sink and looked at herself. Her slim fingers gripped the sink as she stared at her reflection.

"Why didn't you reveal yourself earlier?" Kasumi demanded.

_**If I had revealed myself earlier you would not only be in a world you always considered fantasy but hearing voices as well. You would more than likely questioned your sanity.**_ Kasumi's grip on the basen loosened and her face softened.

"What am I supposed to do? Why are you inside of me?" Kasumi heard a faint sigh and Ayame continued.

**_Did you not listen to what the Kazekage was saying or were you just daydreaming about him? _**Kasumi blushed a little and looked down at the sink. **_My vision fortold of a great war of which their would be no victor. You must work with Naruto and Kyubi to cultivate your skills_**

"Hey, Ayame..."

**_Yes cub._**

"Do I have any speacial skills? You know like Gaara could control sand involantarily." Ayame stayed silent as if contemplating an answer for the girl.

**_It is possible that you are gifted with forsight, your chakra levels will be unlike any thing any one has ever seen... both your body and mind adapt incredably fast. There is that good enough for you?_** Kasumi blushed slightly and nodded. _**Good.**_ **_Now get _**_**dressed and talk to the people outside.**_

"Ayame, one more question. You know that inside Naruto Kyubi is locked up in a huge cage..." Although she could not see her Kasumi felt Ayame smile.

**_You want to know wheather I am caged or not. _**Kasumi nodded silently again. **_I am in the place where you focus your chakra, that white space with the growing pool of chakra. That is where I reside, I kept my presants hidden for purposes _**_**for reasons that I have already mentioned. **_Kasumi now happy that everything had been answered wuickly dressed herself in her pajamas and went to sit with the others on the couch. Naruto and Sakura watched as Kasumi cam and sat with them.

"Is everything alright? We heard you talking to yourself." Kasumi looked at the floor with embarassment. Then Naruto seemed to understand.

"Were you talking to Ayame?" Both girls looked up at him and then Kasumi smiled. '_Of course he would know, he talks to Kyubi somethimes.'_

"Yes, I was." Naruto moved closer to her on the couch.

"So, what was she like?" He smiled his foxy grin.

"She sounded experienced but not old. She was also really nice and helpful." Naruto chuckled.

"A little more helpful then Kyubi then." All three of them laughed even though it wasn't that funny. Kasumi then turned to Naruto.

"Do you think we can do some training here?" Sakura then answered.

"I don't see why not, it's not like Kakashi told us to hurry back. Also the difference in scene may be good for you Kate." Kasumi then turned to Sakura and tilted her head slightly.

"You're really not good with names are you?" Sakura smiled and they all laughed again.


	11. Weapon?

The next day the trio walked down a sandy street of Suna. The sun was high and the heat beat down upon their dehydrated skin. Kasumi had a shy smile on her face that had been their for a while, it was bugging Naruto as he had never seen that expression on her before. Sakura had a faint idea though. Kasumi looked down at the headband that was draped around her neck, she had been in this world for just over a month and she was still reluctant to believe it was true, no matter how she longed for it to be. Soon they arrived at their destination, a training field, Sakura had wondered if Kasumi would have a nack for some kind of weapon and Kasumi was more than happy to try some out.

In the center of the field there was a table with an assortment of different weapons laid out and next to it stood a sand shinobi. Once he saw the three approach he knew his job was done and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. With excitement gleaming in her eyes Kasumi quickly made her way to the table to see what was there. She recognised several as she had seen them in the manga as well as other places.

First she picked up the large shuriken but was completely useless with it and almost sliced off one of Sakura's feet. Next she tried kama, twin sickle type weapons, she was pretty good with them but she asked to try other things until she found something she liked more. Then she picked up a pair of nunchaku but kept hitting herself on the head with them. She went on to try sai, a bo-staff and a hanbo but failed miserably at all of them. Lastly she came to the katana, as soon as she picked it up she had a strangely satisfactory feeling. Elegantly she flowed through several moves Sakura showed her and decided that was it, her weapon.

Kasumi then placed the katana back on the table knowing that she could not have that specific on as it belonged to the Suna shinobi academy. Turning around she smiled brightly at her companions happy that she had found a weapon that suited her style. Then in sync three stomachs growled loudly. Naruto smiled his foxy grin and knew what to do.

"Ramen anyone?" Kasumi and Sakura happily agreed and walked off in the direction of the nearest stand.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Happily slurping the last noodle of his tenth bowl of ramen Naruto sat back exposing his swollen belly to the world. Sakura was still on her first bowl and Kasumi was on her second, still not up to Naruto servings. Three contented sighs could be heard as they simultaneously placed their final bowls on the table. Then the extremely happy looking chief placed the bill before them. A chill tingled down Kasumi's spine, it occurred to her that as this was her first mission she still had no money and was letting Naruto and Sakura pay for everything. Guilt soured the remnants of ramen in her mouth as she slumped in her seat. Naruto looked over at her noticing the sudden change in her attitude when the sound of another customer entering caught his attention.

"K-Kazekage-sama! What an honor!" Exclaimed the porky chief. Naruto looked up noticing his old friend appearing to be looking for someone.

"Yo! Gaara! Over here!" Sakura then proceded to swiftly kick Naruto's shin.

"You have to refer to him as Kazekage-sama, at least in public!" She sighed knowing that it probably wouldn't make a difference. Gaara the approached them at a steady pace and sat down in the empty seat next to Kasumi. At this point Kasumi was still in her own little world of guilt to notice the new presence next to her.

"So, Naruto how did the training go?" A glimmer of shock passed his face as he noticed the sheer amount of ramen that Naruto had consume and then returned to his indifferent expression. Naruto and Sakura thought about the bruises that they now had because of the training and then smiled.

"I think it went well-" Sakura started.

"Yeah, and she picked out the katana, it really suits her. Dattebyo." Naruto said enthusiastically.

"Really, that's good." Gaara's eyes flickered at Kasumi wondering why she was being so quiet. She then felt the eyes watching her and returned to the real world, jumping slightly when she noticed Gaara sat next to her.

"Oh! When did you get here?" A small smirk drifted across Gaara's lips as he looked at her. Naruto the stifled a laugh at Kasumi's obliviousness.


	12. Unexpected

**In Konoha.**

"Shinsei?" Kakashi asked tiredly, "who are they supposed to be?" The Hokage looked over at the shinobi before him. Sasuke. After his return to Konoha he had felt the guilt of wanting to destroy his home and wanted to rebuild his clan to their former glory. Recently whispers of a new group had been forming, a group like Akatski but with a far more sinister goal.

"I believe that they are the group from Ayame's vision, Hokage-sama." While Naruto, Sakura and Kasumi were in Suna Kakashi had given Sasuke the information on Kasumi so that he was up to speed. "Rumours have been saying that they are somewhere in the country of fire, hidden."

"Sasuke, I would like for you to go and investigate these rumors. See if their is any value in them. We need to know. Dismissed." With that Sasuke disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**In Suna**

Kasumi looked at the Kazekage sat next to her. Gaara, her favourite character from the Naruto series and now he was next to her. Looking at her.

"I just arrived." He replied his eyes devoid of any particular emotion. Kasumi stared at her ramen as a silence drifted into the noodle bar.

_**So Kasumi, this is the boy that you have a crush on.**_ Kasumi's cheeks flushed as Ayame's voices echoed in her mind.

"_No I don't!"_ She whispered in reply hoping the others wouldn't notice. Hearing a light chuckle Kasumi glanced up at Gaara.

_**Cub, I know that you do. I am inside you, I feel your emotions as if they were my own.**_ Kasumi sighed and began to get agitated.

_"Do we have to discus this now?"_ She asked impatiently.

_**No cub, but by doing this you realise your feelings quicker so that you can voice them. This is a good oportunity, however I would wait until either you were alone with him or until Naruto leaves.**_ Kasumi looked confused as she listened to Ayame speak. The others watched her fidget and were wondering what she was doing. Naruto had already caught on that she was speaking with Ayame.

_"Naruto?"_ When he heard his name whispered his ears pirked up. _"Why would he care?" _On the inside Kasumi could tell that Ayame was rolling her demon eyes.

_**Never mind cub, you will figure it out eventually.**_Now more confused then ever Kasumi stood and quickly exited the ramen stand. As they watched the small scene the others really did begin to wonder what was happening.

"Is this my fault?" Gaara asked as she seemed fine before she noticed he was there.

"I don't think so, she is just going through things that I suppose only you and Naruto can relate to, however there are something which you cannot." Sakura said rather unhelpfully.

"I'll go talk to her." Naruto declared.

"No, I will. " Gaara said quietly. He quickly stood and followed Kasumi out of the shop. Naruto looked at Sakura slightly confused.

_I wonder why he cares so much?_ Naruto asked himself.

Outside the midday sun beat down upon Kasumi who was sat on a nearby rooftop. She welcomed the whisps of cool air that caressed her sweat beaded skin. She sighed heavily and wondered if she could ever really love someone who has always been a simple character drawn on the pages of a book. She sympathised with him but how could she make the adjustments. Nothing seemed real.

**_Why are you so confused cub?_** Ayame asked concerned.

"I... I just don't know what to believe anymore. How can I trust this world, my feelings... any one. It could just be a lie. Just like my hom- the place I was before."

**_Trust me cub, this place is real._**

"Is that why you were being so quiet?" Kasumi whirled around and watched as Gaara walked over and sat next to her. His gaze looking into the distant horizon.  
"It was probably true you know." Kasumi looked up at him curiously. "Ayame did it to protect you and make you the person you are now." Then Kasumi realised something. Gaara's head whiped around as he felt a warm embrace suround him.

"I'm sorry. I've been all mopy about her doing all this for me. But you, you and Naruto went through it all. I just watched." Bitter tears streamed her face as she sat holding him. Gaara looked down at the girl, he had no idea what to do, his heart was throbbing and his cheeks were flushed. He wondered if he was ill and should hurry back home, but at the sametime he felt like he didn't want to be anywhere else in the world.  
He raised his quivering hand and gently caresses her face. Kasumi looked up and saw something she had never seen in Gaara's eyes before. His hand gently pulled her closer and their lips met.


	13. Coming together

Kasumi was frozen. Her pale skin tingled as it was caressed by his hand. The warmth that radiated from their contact flowed through her setting her blood a blaze with passion. Salty sweet tears flowed from his teal eyes. Kasumi pulled away from him and gently wiped his cheek, smiling awkwardly.

"Why are you crying?" She asked him.

"Because... " He looked down and clutched at his heart. "I don't understand... I feel more happy then anything but at the same time... I'm terrified."  
Kasumi kissed him lightly on the cheek and placed her hand on his toned stomach.

"Does it feel like their are butterflies in here?" Slowly he nodded.

"What is wrong with me?" A small giggle danced through her slightly parted lips.

"Whatever it is... I have it too." Their faces flushed and they embraced again.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Back in the ramen stand**

Naruto had polished off another three bowls of ramen and then slammed the bowl on the table with out smashing it. The sudden noised make Sakura jump, since Kasumi had left and been followed by Gaara she had been staring out the door wondering if her suspicions were correct. Sakura stared at Naruto wondering what was wrong with him.

"Where are they? I thought he was supposed to bring her back." Crossed his arm impatiently. Sakura analysed his speech and posture.

"Naruto..." She took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "Do you like her? Kasumi?" Naruto looked at Sakura with and odd expression on his face.

"Of course I do. She's my friend" Sakura rolled her eyes knowingly.

"I meant romantically, Naruto baka." Naruto tilted his head thoughtfully. He wasn't sure, he had never thought about it.

"I care about her, I want to protect her from harm, when I see her smile it makes me happy. Also I feel I can connect with her as we are both jinchuuriki." Sakura shifted around in her seat and then was comfortable again.

"You didn't answer my question, do you love her?"

"I don't know..."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Somewhere in the fire country.**

A tall mountain towered over the many flat lands and the trees grew thick here. Almost all of the mountain was blanket in these trees. Old and wise. Deep, deep in the heart in the dark mountain a group of extremely skilled shinobi were forming together. The leader of this gathering was a tall man who stood up above the rest with a slim attractive woman.

The man had thick dark murky green hair that fell over his eyes, pale skin and a sorrowful expression tattooed to his face. He wore simple peasant clothes but the only difference was that he had an overly sized sword on his back and black shinobi sandals.

The woman had long firey red hair that want all the way down to her knees. She wore a light blue kimono style dress as well as netting around her neck. Although her most notable feature was her incredibly over sized breasts, Tsunade would be ashamed!

Soon the meeting began and the select people quieted as the man began to speak.

"Welcome. You are all here under different circumstances but for the same reason." His voice was surprisingly strong and yet full of sadness.

Thick black clouds swirls atop the mountains peak and bitter tears of rain fell hard to the ground. Sudden flashes of light disbursed and were quickly followed by loud thunderous claps.

"You are all the best of your kind, shinobi through and through but you have all felt the sting of this world. We all bare these scars." As he spoke his thoughts drifted to his scars. For he had many. The most evident was one that blemished his other wise flawless face, it started just under his left eye and slid down to his chin.

"These scars define us, who we are... and who we were..." His voice seemed to be breaking as he spoke. A slender hand gently caressed his shoulder. He nodded and dissapeared from view. The woman now stood before them.

"We move to make this world better for all of us. By any means nessasary. Those who wish to be on the front line of the revolution then you may stay, those who have doubts may leave now." Not a soul in the entire cavern moved. A coy smirk crossed her rouged lips.

"Good, you all have your parts to play. Now listen very carefully, for this is the first stage of our plan."


	14. Early rising

Sasuke's eyes dilated. He sat watching the gathering from the ceiling hanging high upside down. He kept his chakra low so that he would not be noticed but just enough to keep him suspended on the ceiling. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sasuke knew that he had to get back to Konoha but it would be difficult to slip away unnoticed. He recognised some of the shinobi below him. Most were in the bingo book. His gaze then diverted to the woman, her chakra levels were fluctuating radically and she didn't show any signs of what was causing it. Then someone who wore a dark cloak hurried over to her and said something to her. A dark twisted grin distorted her otherwise attractive features.

"My friends, I have just received word that they have been located. Both of them are together! It is perfect. I already have men in place near to their location." She pointed to three men at the front of the crowd." You shall go and make sure everything goes to plan." They nodded. " Alright, now to Suna!" With that they disappeared leaving only smoke behind.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kasumi and Gaara snuggled closer together as they felt passion overcome them more and more. The Gaara suddenly pulled away and stood up. Confused Kasumi stood and was just about to ask what was wrong when a sand shinobi appeared before them.

"My apologies Kazekage-sama, you are need urgent matters have just come to the councils attention and they need you!" Gaara nodded and began to follow the shinobi away. He turned back slightly, Kasumi smiled at him and he left. As soon as he was out of sight Kasumi fell to her knees. He pale hands grasping her inflamed cheeks. Suddenly she remembered that she had left Naruto and Sakura at the ramen stand with out a word. She decided to head their immediatly.

Soon she arrived to find that they were gone. After talking to the chief she determined why he was in the noodle business and not a shinobi. He was and idiot. Kasumi deducted that they may have headed back to the training grounds to continue until she returned. Swiftly she headed for the training fields with hope that Naruto and Sakura would be there.

As she got closer Kasumi saw three figures near a large tree. The bright orange cloak soon gave Naruto away and a smile crossed her face. Sakura was next to him and they were talking to a sand shinobi that she did not recognise. With little thought to his identity she carried on towards them until.

**_Stop!_** Kaumi literally froze with her left foot still slightly elevated.

"_What is it Ayame?_"Kasumi asked the demon that dwelt within her.

**_Something is not right cub_** A low growl could be heard from Ayame that rang through Kasumi's ears. Suddenly Naruto and Sakura appeared beside her. They grabbed her with vice like grips. Staring at them fear was present in Kasumi's eyes.

**_Told you so._** After rolling her eyes Kasumi looked at the unknown shinobi that now stood before her. A twisted smirk distorted his face as he looked down at her. Then around the corner Kasumi saw Naruto and Sakura wander up.

**_No this is happening too fast. It was supposed to be a year from now! _**Fear suddenly struck Kasumi. **_Its beginning and you're not yet ready!_**

"NARUTO!" She screamed before a large hand clamped her mouth shut. The two shinobi span around to see the fakes change into their true forms, two well built shinobi.

"KASUMI!" Naruto shouted angrily as he bounded towards them. Sakura quickly grabbed his arm as she had already seen the glint of a kunai held up to Kasumi's throat.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Gaara sat down at his desk and looked over at the council members clearly bored already. He looked over at them wondering what was so important. They all were sat and silent had clouded the room. Then one of the elders stood.

"Now Kazekage-sama it has come to our att-" He was then suddenly interrupted by the cries of men outside the door. They all stood awaiting the strangers arrival. The doors flung open and Uchiha Sasuke burst into the room.

"Gaara where is Naruto and Kasumi?!" Gaara looked over at Sasuke stunned.

"Whaa? erm... they... i'm not sure. What is this about?" Fury engulfed Sasuke's eyes.

"We need to find them, NOW!" With that Sasuke ran back the way he came. The elders looked at each other speechless.

"You heard him. Find Naruto and Kasumi!" Gaara cried out at the shinobi that crowded the doorway, that then began dispersing quickly. Gaara told the elder to await his return as he headed for the door. Then a tall slender senior looking man grabbed his arm.

"Kazekage-sama, you should not be dealing with this minor interruption personally." Gaara sighed angrily and sat back down in his seat.

"Fine, lets us continue." His pale fingers intertwined as he gently placed his head on them as a headrest.


	15. Taken

*** Woa I haven't updated in a while... ^_^; sorry about that! mainly A levels bogging me down but I will try to continue this when I have time!***

* * *

The shinobi were at a stand still. Naruto and Sakura at one end, Kasumi and the enemy at the other. Taking one step forward the sight of blood stopped Naruto in his tracks. The kunai pressed up against Kasumi's neck had pierced the skin ever so sightly so that a single fine stream of her blood was released. Cringing, Kasumi bit her bottom lip as the cold metal sliced her pale skin. A crooked smirk contorted the already ugly face of the ninja. The words of their leader echoed in their minds.

_"Make sure the kyubi jinchuriki watches as you take the jyubi jinchuriki. Then he will follow and we wont have to worry about capturing him."_

As his grip on Kasumi tightened the shinobi looked over at his comrade and nodded. With this signal he raised his hand and threw down three smoke bombs. Clouds enveloped them and Kasumi could see less and less of Naruto and Sakura.

As soon as the clouds appeared Naruto broke into a desperate dash towards Kasumi. Then he was in amongst the clouds, thrashing around for any sign of contact with the enemy or Kasumi. The smoke began to dissapate and Naruto was left stood alone. Sakura steadily walked to his side and gently placed her hand of his shoulder. Suddenly Sasuke's chakra signature appeared from behind her. Spinning she saw the man she had pined for with all her heart but his gaze was directally on Naruto. Slowly Naruto turned to face Sasuke with sadness and anger in his eyes.

"Naruto! Where is Kasumi? You are both in danger here in the open!" With every word that escaped his friend's lips Naruto felt them pierce him.

* * *

Gaara watched the elderly officials argue over trivial matters of administration and such. It was if they were miming as he could not hear a word escape their lips. He knew that as Kazekage he had to be active in the governing of his village, but... images kept plaguing his traitorous mind. Her smile, the warmth of her skin and the feel of her embrace. The single notion that she was in danger boiled his blood. However the worst part was the fact that because he was Kazekage meant that he couldn't just think about just one person, not himself or her. He had to remember that he had many other people to protect, people that he had worked so hard to gain the love and respect of.

"Kagekage-sama?" Gaara then regained composure as he was dragged away from his selfish thoughts. Looking over at the elders he nodded as to signal for them to continue. "As we were saying, the Feudal Lord is becoming nervous with the prosperity of the fire nation and is concerned with unexplained reports of large gatherings of very dangerous missing nin from all shinobi villages and even some that come from unknown villages." Gaara looked up at the officials. He wondered is this could be linked with Kasumi's awakening and the prophecy in the scroll.

"Is that everything?" Gaara asked wanting to see Sasuke imediatly for an explaination as well as seeing if Kasumi and Naruto were alright.

"Yes, Kazekage-sama."

"Alright, we will conclude how to deal with this in a later meeting." Knowing that Gaara wanted to be alone the officials bowed respectfully and quickly left the meeting room. Gaara then stood and looked out of the window. It was getting late. The pale moon had just begun to rise gracefully to her place in the darkening sky. Then a large dark cloud extinguished the pale beauty of the moon and Gaara knew that it would be a while until he would be able to have her gentle light on his cool skin.

* * *

Kasumi's eyes fluttered open and felt the tight grip of ropes roughly snaked around her body constricting her movements to a minimum. The icy cold of a stone floor sent waves of shivers through her body. She was laying on her side, it ached as if she had just been thrown down like she used to dump her school bag in her bedroom. From behind her she could hear the steps of three people. She heard the snigger of a woman. Then she was roughly pulled up to face them.

"Hm, so this is her? She doesn't seem like much. Seriously how could a shinobi be so-"

"Remember she isn't a real shinobi. She is a school girl." The woman corrected her henchman. Walking closer the woman looked at Kasumi straight in the eyes. Kasumi gave her a sharp stare in return that only mage the woman smirk. "Now, now my dear, there is no need for you to be so negative or you will awake with bags under your eyes. Kasumi's eyes flashed confusion. "Oh, did you forget already. Look I'll show you!" The woman pulled out a kunai and thrusted it deep into Kasumi's chest. "Night, night... Kate."


	16. A lingering dream?

*WARNING RECENT MANGA SPOILERS!*

Kasumi's eyes fluttered open slowly. Her vision was slightly blurred and she was disorientated. The dull cream ceiling loomed above her, the pale morning light barely illuminating the room. She raised her hand to her forehead and a twinge of pain shot through her. Suddenly she bolted upright, she could no longer feel the flow off her chakra, was it being suppressed by the enemy shinobi? Fumbling around her waist Kasumi felt for the wound so fresh in her memory.

But… there was none…

As she sat dumbfounded she realised that she was in her pyjamas.

In her room.

At home.

In… the real world?

"A dream?" Kasumi said dazed. Gently she scratched her hairless head and attempted to evaluate. "I was there for so long…" Looking around she noticed changes in her room. For one it was her older brother's old room. It was filled with her things and… a brand new laptop? Looking to her left she saw a set of draws with clothes hanging out half heartedly. Atop the draws was her manga collection… but this one had books that she didn't have before. Then the door flung open and her younger sister Momo flew in and dived upon Kasumi.

"You're up then!" Her big blue eyes sparkled up at Kasumi.

"Momo, when did I get all this stuff, and a new room?" Momo looked up at her with a strange expression.

"Your birthday, you know the big eight-teen?" A look of shock washed over Kasumi she had missed her birthday?

"You know Kate you have been acting weird ever since the summer holidays began. Kinda like a zombie." A gently shrug emerged and Momo hopped off the bed. After she left Kasumi stood and went over to her window. She was home again. It was England, present day and raining, defiantly her crappy world. It annoyed her that it was a dream. Everything was so real. Sighing she sat down and switched on her laptop. Immediately going to the Naruto manga to see what she had missed.

"Ok, blah blah, oh cool… wait a second! There is a ten tailed beast! But this is different to my dream! This is the combination of the other beasts… oh well. I guess it's nice to think you're special, even if it's in a dream. Plus, I really can't see any way Naruto could convince Sasuke to come back so that part of my dream was wrong too."

Closing the lid of the laptop Kasumi sighed again. Slowly she stood and headed for the bathroom. After taking a shower Kasumi approached the mirror and wiped away the evaporation. Stood in her towel staring at the mirror Kasumi was reminded of when she first spoke to Ayame. Turning she headed back to her bed room and got dressed. Flopping back on her bed Kasumi spotted her favourite plushie, Gaara. Gently she picked it up and took it into an embrace. Lying on her back she stared at with ceiling with glazed eyes. Although her time with him was short it was well worth it. To remember the feeling of his warm yet secure embrace and shivers went down her spine at the thought of their kiss. A light blush tinted her cheeks then she sat up abruptly.

"I have to remember, just a dream." Her gazed stayed tenderly on the plushie. "Just a character, a figment of imagination." Lovingly Kasumi placed the plushie on her bedside table and spaced out.

"This means that I am not really Kasumi but I am really Kate Shepard… "Sighing again Kasumi turned on her music player. 'Simple and Clean' Flicked on sung by Utada Hikaru. It was the kingdom hearts version. As she listened to the remixed panting she thought she heard something she did not make out. Walking closer she sat by the speaker.

_Ka~ su~ mi~ Gen~ ju~ tsu~ _Reeling back Kasumi recognised the voice, not as Utada Hikaru but as Ayame.

Was she back in the genjutsu or was it just a lingering dream?

Kasumi went over to her window, she was far too hot and was getting frustrated. She attempted to open the window but nothing happened. Her eyes widened. The latch wouldn't even move. Rushing through the hallway and downstairs Kasumi headed for the front door. She passed her step father but she stopped dead in her tracks and span around. He... was smiling at her. Not smirking but smiling... warmly. Something was defiantly wrong. Moving quickly towards the door Kasumi felt a strange urge to turn back and go in her bedroom on her laptop. The sensation was strong but she kept moving forward with more difficulty as she got closer. At first it was like wading through water but it became more and more solid as she moved until it felt like thick invisible treacle. Her hand thrusted towards the door handle but it was stiff and wouldn't budge an inch. Glancing out the windows everything seemed perfectly normal, it was still raining and the trees swayed in the wind but she still had such a huge nagging voice in her head telling her to go outside. Ayame's voice. Determined she twisted the latch as hard as she could but to no avail. Her anger swelled inside and her hands began to tingle. Feverishly she rattled the handle her guts twisting inside screaming at her to leave the house. A flair of energy flowed through her and the handle twisted open. Her eyes wide with surprise she looked down at her hand. The faintest glow revealed that her chakra was fighting to escape.

"A dream my arse!" Kasumi stated defiantly as she swung the door open an stared speechless at the doorway. There was nothing. The empty resounding white that filled her mind when she needed her chakra. But wait... it wasn't empty there was a lake. A lake? Stepping through the thresh hold her home evaporated behind her. A tingle of sadness struck her as she saw her sisters waiving slowly and silently as they disintegrated.

She was now alone...

Walking towards the lake Kasumi felt revitalised and replenished. However a swelling felling of loneliness consumed her. What was real? Did anything exist? Something warm brushed by her hand. Turning around Kasumi smiled at the familiar presence beside her.

"Ayame!" Kasumi wrapped her arms around Ayame's snowy mane and stood there content in the knowledge she was safe.

_**That was quicker then I expected!**_ Ayame said warmly. _**Now I think its time for you to wake up, don't you?**_ Kasumi relinquished her hold on Ayame and stepped back. With a single word and a single gentle tap on Kasumi's head she awoke.

"Release!"


	17. Numb

Sasuke looked at Naruto awaiting a response from his too quiet friend.

"They already have her don't they?" Sasuke asked grimly. Naruto felt numb and could do nothing but nod slightly in Sasuke's direction.

"Damn" Sasuke cursed under his breath. "We need to get a message to Kakashi and inform Gaara." Sakura nodded and slowly lead Naruto in the direction of the Kazekage tower while Sasuke headed towards the aviary to send the news to Kakashi.

* * *

Gaara was distracted from his view of the clouded dark sky when he noticed Naruto and Sakura slowly making their way to his office. The mere fact that they were going slowly was a bad sign. Naruto didn't do anything slowly, or with much thought. He seemed to be distracted and Gaara wasn't quite sure but his expression seemed sad and angry at the same time. He still wasn't very good with emotion or people so he didn't know what to do for Naruto or what could have caused his strange look.

* * *

Sasuke had already written and sent the note and was on his way to meet up with Naruto at the Kazekage tower but it seemed that Naruto hadn't even got there yet. Leaping off the rooftop he was travelling on Sasuke was now face to face with his best friend. Naruto's eyes were glazed over and his expression was a mixture of guilt, sadness and anger.

"Naruto, this is not going to help Kasumi, it is?" Naruto looked up at Sasuke and nodded again. "I do know where they are. We just need to go and get her." Sasuke stated slightly annoyed with how pathetic Naruto was being.

As if Naruto read Sasuke's mind he perked up and smiled his signature grin.

"Why are we still here then?!" He then bounded towards the gates then stopped and span around on his heel. "Where is it again?" He asked slightly sheepishly. Sasuke frowned and stared at Naruto.

"There is still the matter of informing Gaara." He said blandly.

* * *

Team seven soon appeared in Gaara's office standing silently as he processed what had happened. He then gave a simple nod to signify that he understood, this Naruto misunderstood as a nod to leave. He spun and headed for the door but not before Sasuke grabbed his collar and pulled him back to where he was standing before. A mixture of anger and confusion clouded Naruto's face as he looked up at Sasuke.

"You may go after Kasumi…" Gaara began before being interrupted.

"Right. So lead the way Sasuke-" Naruto was interrupted by a swift fist to his head from his left as Sakura glared at him.

"He wasn't finished Naruto" She said as her gaze returned to Gaara. Naruto nodded whilst clutching his head and also turned to face Gaara.

"You may go after Kasumi, but I will also go and assist in her rescue. If your information is correct Sasuke you need skilled shinobi but a small number so that we can sneak in undetected and get her out while also disbanding this organisation from within its own walls."

* * *

Kasumi awoke with a start and would have bolted upright if she hadn't been bound to a cold stone slab. Her bindings were tight and she could barely breathe. Raising her head slightly her blurred vision focused on the only light source. A single wooden torch held by a bulky man that was stood by an opening in the stone carved walls. It seemed that they were in a man made cavern. Several shots of pain then coursed her body. She looked the best she could at the source of pain. It was her stab wound in her gut. It had been badly bandaged and would get infected if it wasn't properly cleaned. Kasumi leaned her head back on the icy stone sighing heavily making more sparks of pain ignite. Wincing Kasumi realised that she had caught the attentions of the guard. He turned to look at her and she noticed that he was a rouge shinobi from the hidden cloud village. He had dark skin and strange tattoos. She didn't recognise him meaning he was just a grunt and not anyone from the manga. This, however, made him any less dangerous. A strangely confused look crossed his face but soon disappeared. He shuffled forward and examined her closely.

_'Maybe he is an idiot...'_ Kasumi thought as she attempted to calculate ways of tricking him into releasing her. Then she saw him pick up a heavy looking rock and turned towards her. _'Oh you are not seriously going to knock me out with a rock?!' _Kasumi thought distastefully whilst struggling in her bindings. A crocked smirk twisted his face as he slowly approached building the tension.

"Kichiku!" A woman said sharply as she was standing in the door way. He looked over at her and backed away putting down the rock. Kasumi struggled to sit up enough to see who she was but the voice seemed familiar. In realisation Kasumi bolted forward as far as her restraints would permit.

It was her!

The one who stabbed her!

Was she the one who put her back in the genjustu?

Who was she?


	18. Cuts

The woman came through the doorway, with a single movement of her hand Kichiku left the room and closed the door. She came and sat down next to Kasumi. Although she was keeping Kasumi a captive she couldn't help but think she didn't look like the kind of person to kidnap anyone. The thing that Kasumi hated most about her was her beautiful long red hair. It wasn't ginger but proper bright red.

"Who are you and why had you kidnapped me?!" Kasumi demanded. The woman smiled and leaned down to Kasumi's ear.

"I would have thought that your brains would make up for your looks but obviously I was mistaken." Her smile twisted as she rose back into a sitting position. Kasumi sighed at the petty jab.

"Seriously? You must be really retarded to think that calling me names would upset me." Kasumi said bored. The woman frowned. "Not all of us are vain, not like it does you any good. You look like a slag. I mean have you seen how low down that kimono is on your cleavage?!" The woman stood after this remark. "No wait lemme guess why you kidnapped me, right, you want the demon inside me. But you haven't killed me yet or tried extracting her. So that must mean that either you can't or your waiting for Naruto to come storming in, am I close?" Kasumi asked sarcastically. Angrily the woman jabbed Kasumi's wound and searing pain jolted through her.

"You may have been right but now I think I will torture you before we begin the ritual. We need you in one piece, nothing was said about your condition." She then pulled out a kunai and walked menacingly towards Kasumi.

_Me and my big sarcastic mouth!_

* * *

The group was now speeding towards the fire country. Both Gaara and Naruto were speeding ahead of Sasuke and Sakura. It had now been three days since Kasumi's abduction and they were close to the cavern where she was being held. They had not rested very much as Naruto would not do so for more than a few hours. They stopped just short of the entrance and saw that there was nothing. They knew that meant that it was laced with traps or the leader was an idiot. Gaara sent tendrils of sand through the entrance to detect where the traps were. Strangely he found none. This put the group on edge, something was wrong. Naruto was beginning to get frustrated. He was about to burst into the cavern but was quickly stopped by Gaara's outstretched arm. Naruto looked at him fiercely.

"If you go storming in and get captured how will you help Kasumi?" He asked softly. Naruto's gaze dropped, he knew that Gaara was right but he felt his insides screaming. Telling him that she needed them. Now.

Unfortunately they were right.

* * *

After hours of shallow cuts hatching her skin the woman seemed to become bored. Kasumi was being stubborn and refused to give her the pleasure of seeing her in pain. As the cuts became slower and deeper Kasumi's mind began to cower away in her head. She burrowed deep into her subconsciousness. To escape this pain she wanted to be anywhere. Soon her mind had receded into her inner self. She was once again in the white space with only her lake of chakra and Ayame for company. However, it was not like before. Her beautiful lake had been frozen over with thick ice. The force that was suppressing her was strong. Her blood loss was beginning to effect her even in her mind. She was unable to stand and had to rely on Ayame to keep her up.

The woman was becoming more and more frustrated with Kasumi. There was no longer any response to her cuts. She knew that she was far enough from death that extraction would be easy.

"Yuka! What are you doing?!" She spun around to see her master in the doorway.

"Kaito-sama!" She exclaimed quickly bowing respectfully to him a small smirk still on her lips. "She was being insolent and now her chakra levels are weak enough to begin the ritual." Raising again she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. Coldly he brushed her away.

"My suppression technique would have got them to a sufficient level in a day more." He sighed angrily and approached Kasumi. "You are too impatient! If you had continued this much longer our whole plan would be in shambles!" Once again she approached him and leaned close to him.

"Yes but the Kyubi is close and it would be a pain if he came her before we were finished with her." Brushing his hair out of his eyes Kaito looked down at Kasumi's still form. "Yuka, I have told you to stop doing that." Gently he pushed her away from him. "I have no interest in you. Now take her to the sacrificial room and prepare the ceremony." With that he left the room and Yuka stood with a devilish grin.

"You say that now." Her attentions turned back to Kasumi. She slung the unconscious girl over her shoulder and walked towards the allocated room.

* * *

Kakashi sat in his office contemplating doing any paper work when one of his shinobi walked in. _Well that's decided then._ He thought happily as he waited for her to say her piece.

"Hokage-sama, we have recieved word from the team in Suna." He sat up straight in his chair and gestured for her to continue. "Kasumi has been kidnapped by the group Shinsei, Sasuke has joined Naruto and Sakura in her retrieval as well as Kazegae-sama." At this Kakashi looked up with surprise. _Why would Gaara himself help Kasumi. Was it a favour to Naruto? There did seem to be some kind of tension. Or maybe its a plot twist with Gaara as a love rival! Wow, just like make IchaIcha Paradise!_ The Shinobi then cleared her throat after noticing him lose concentraion.

"We have intel that they are near the base and are ready to deploy. What would you like to do?" Kakashi thought for a moment. If this was the group from Kasumi's prophacy, which he had no doubts about, then they would need help.

"Dispatch Teams 8, 10 and Gai." She nodded and then dissapeared in a cloud of smoke. Kakashi stood from his chair and walked over to his window. _Is this the start of war... or the end?_


	19. Needles

Dim candle light stung Kasumi's eyes as she slowly awoke. As her vision cleared she realised that she was in a different place, a larger cavern with candles dotted around her in a circle. She was on another cold slab of a pedestal tied in rough tight ropes. To her dismay she realised that she had been changed into a white silk kimono, it was sleeveless and the skirt was short. She growled at the invasion. A harsh chuckle silenced her immediately. Tipping her back as far as she could Kasumi recognised the upside down figure of the woman, Yuka. Her eyes glinted evilly in the glowing candle light making her usually beautiful features sinister and twisted. Then other figures stepped into the ominous glow, they were in dark robes that shadowed their faces. Kasumi suddenly realised that each figure held a glinting slender needle. She flinched, ever since she could remember Kasumi had been deathly afraid of needles. She hated them; the mere thought of them gave her shivers and goosebumps. Yuka picked up on this quickly.

"Oh, needles. Yes they are a pivotal part of this ritual." A cruel smirk twisted her painted lips. "Not long now…"

Heavy footsteps could be heard echoing from behind the heavy set door. Kasumi knew that Yuka was awaiting this person to begin. Resting her head back on the slab she squeezed her eyes shut. A tear slid down her bruised cheek.

* * *

"Do you understand, Naruto?" Sasuke asked hoping that his formulated plan had sunk in. It was the safest and cleanest way to get Kasumi out alive.

He nodded solemnly staring down the void entrance. Sasuke glance over at Gaara and Sakura who both gave swift nods. After several hands signals they were gone, leaving only wisps of dust in their wake.

* * *

The steady tapping of several sandals rushing to the caverns entrance became almost rhythmic. They were making good progress and had almost reached their destination.

"I see four people, its team Kakashi and the Kazekage." Hinata reported to which Neji agreed.

"They have just made a move to the entrance. The Kazekage's sand appears to have neutralised any traps." Neji continued. In unison the group sped up towards the cave. Kiba still felt guilty for his first encounter with Kasumi, he had never got the chance to properly apologise and hoped that he would after the mission. Their briefing had been short but the impression they received was that this rescue was important, the enemy was dangerous and they were running out of time.

* * *

**Sorry about the lack of updates and short chapter but i will do a nice long one for the rescue chapter. R&R =^.^=**


	20. The gate

A simple nod was all Yuka needed to begin.

"Insert the needles, slowly". She ordered with glee resounding in her voice. Soft thuds indicated they were closing in. She could feel the pressure of the needles caressing her skin before they penetrated her. They pressed into the sides of her neck and all the way down her arms into every one of her finger tips. Kasumi didn't want to give Yuka the satisfaction of her suffering but she couldn't stop the tears or the cries of pain that fumbled from her chapped lips. Her screams echoed through the caverns as more needles were stabbed down her legs and into her toes. Kasumi could do nothing but weep, her chakra was still being repressed, her bruises ached and her cuts stung. Her salty tears slid into the slivers of exposed nerves. The more she cried the more needles they inserted. When the last needle was in place the men stepped away from her. A single flick of Yuka wrist and they left, closing the heavy doors after them. Then Yuka stood on the left side of Kasumi whilst Kaito stood on her right. His face was blanketed with an expressionless mask while Yuka was beaming happily. They speedily began complicated hand seals and chanting lowly.

* * *

Swiftly the small unit moved as shadows through the cavern finding nothing but used candles and empty sake bottles. Then the screams began, echoing painfully through the desolate rooms. They all looked to each other with concern in their eyes.

"Kasumi" Naruto breathed. His eyes became feral for but a moment before he rushed in the direction of her screams quickly followed by Gaara and the others. The two were neck and neck in speed as the sobs became louder and stung their hearts. They stopped just short of the room there the screams lessened into whimpers as over twenty shinobi left the room, including the three that kidnapped Kasumi. Sasuke and Sakura were soon beside them and surveying the situation. They could hear low murmurs from the room that they knew were a bad sign.

* * *

The reinforcements entered the cavern to the echoes of Kasumi's pain. Neji and Hinata scanned the cavern. She gasped as she saw the state that Kasumi was in.

"Two people are with Kasumi in a sealed room. There are twenty shinobi stationed outside in a large hall that connects to the room. The Kazekage, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are just out of their view and appear to be forming a plan." Neji informed them.

"The people that are with her have strange chakras; they are incredibly strong but seem to be wavering. They must be doing something incredibly powerful to her." The group nodded as Hinata added to Neji's assessment.

They then began to head towards their fellow shinobi.

* * *

"_**Little one…" **_Kasumi wearily blinked open her eyes at the sound of Ayame's voice. She attempted to voice a reply but her throat was raw and the needles were in deep. At that moment Kasumi felt like a voodoo doll, helpless and bound for bitter evil.

"_**I know that you are in pain, but you are being so brave little one. Come to me."**_ Ayame's calm voice beckoned. As Kasumi followed it she found herself in the bright space of her mind that held her chakras and Ayame. The lake was still frozen over due to the suppression but then her attention was drawn to something new. Before her stood a large door, it was solid with ornate carvings scrawled all over the frame and door. It wasn't supported by anything, she walked around it once and found no evidence of what it was for or how it stood. It was then she realised she was no longer in pain; her body was free of marks or scars. This was unusual the last time she was injured but in her mind their were at least drains on her strength and composure but hear and now she felt perfectly fine.

"_**Go to the door little one." **_She gently encouraged. Kasumi walked back around to the front.

"_**Very good, now you must unlock the door and open it, can you do that little one?"**_ Her hand ventured forward but hesitated just before the handle.

* * *

"Damn it. I can't hear anything in there." Naruto cursed whilst straining the whisper. Sasuke then shot a look to Gaara who, whilst crouched, turned a quarter on his heal to face the enemy and raised his hands. The ground shifted subtly as Gaara's element began to gather around the feet of their enemy, slowly and steadily gaining the advantage and then his hands swooped down and the shinobi's feet were dragged under rendering the immobile. Then the group stood out to reduce the remaining threat by exterminating the rouge ninja. After a few moments the threat was neutralised and the group stood before the door and were soon joined by their back up force from Konoha.

* * *

When they arrived they had no idea that the four of them could take so many shinobi down alone. Then again the four present were the legacies of the legendary Sannin and the Kazekage. Hinata sighed a quiet breath of relief to find Naruto and the others unharmed. Her byakugan was still active as she had watched the whole fight with baited breath hoping she would not be too late. She looked into the room before them.

"Wait!" She warned before the eager Naruto could burst through. "We are not yet sure what they are doing in there and we must be careful as Kasumi's life is at stake." She reminded them as she watched as the chakras from the enemy swirl and converged before filtering in through the needles riddled all over Kasumi's body.

* * *

Kasumi paused.

"_**What's wrong? Can't ya do it, lil one?" **_She asked in a mocking tone. Turning around Kasumi looked for Ayame behind her but she wasn't there.

"Ayame? Where are you?" She called hoping for her to emerge from nothing as she always did but she did not come.

"_**Come on, just open the door and it'll all be over!" **_Ayame's anger tinged voice pressed. She did not move, for she was no longer fooled; firstly, Ayame called her cub not 'lil one', secondly, this door had never been there before and finally, there would never be a reason for Ayame to hide herself from Kasumi so why was she doing it now, the answer; because it wasn't Ayame.

"Where does this door go Ayame?" She asked pretending to still believe it was her she was speaking to.

"_**It leads to salvation." **_She replied with an irritated undertone to her usually smooth voice.

"Oh, well that's good… 'cuz I was beginning to think that this was the sealed gate leading to the demon realm and that opening it would lead to the destruction of our civilisation via large and terrifying demons that take pleasure in destruction and chaos." Kasumi spoke calmly with a smirk beginning to form on her lips. It then disappeared when pain began to converge on her once again.

_[FLASHBACK]_

_Kasumi sat with Ayame beside the lake of chakra that resided in her inner self. _

"_But I don't understand, what am I supposed to do here? What did you see that was so terrible that you had to seal your self within me and place me in an age slowing genjutsu?" Kasumi had only recently found that she was not the girl she thought she was and had a demon inside her, though she had accepted it she was unsure of what she had to do._

"_**I am here to guide you and inform you that inside you there is the sealed gate that leads to the demons realm."**__ Kasumi's body went rigid._

"_You wanna run that past me again I don't think that I heard you right." Her voice sounded slightly shaken._

"_**When I had my vision I did not know why you were the one that I was to inhabit but once I was sealed I found that your chakra was the key to unlocking the sealed gate-"**_

"_Ok so either my chakra unlocks it or the gate is within me, which is it?"_

"_**In a way both. Your chakra is constant but the demon gate will only appear during a certain ritual, it takes the chakra of two outside sources, this forms the gate inside your mindscape and then your chakra unlocks it, this would take but a single touch from your inner self." **__Ayame looked at Kasumi with intelligent eyes. _

"_Wouldn't it have been easier not to have put me in the genjutsu then? I mean if I lived my life without it then there would be no threat now."Ayame let out a low wine._

"_**Unfortunately I only found this information after I possessed you, and by then it was too late; you were in the genjutsu until it automatically released itself and I was sealed within you until you were released."**_

"_Damn…"_

_[END FLASHBACK]_

The waves of pain crashed and beat her like the ocean in a storm slowly wearing her away. A shriek of a scream escaped her lips hoping to be heard as her mindscape turned black as pitch and nothing but she and the door remained.

"JUST OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!" Yuka clearly screeched.

"Come and face me you ugly whore!" Kasumi challenged. Then Yuka appeared from nothing along with Kaito beside her.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME? I AM GOING TO ENJOY KILLING YOU!" She screamed whilst rushing Kasumi. Staying perfectly still Kasumi closed her eyes as she heard Yuka's loud angry steps, this irritated Yuka even more. "Don't you dare underestimate me!" She yelled throwing a hard punch directed at Kasumi's face.

Her fist stopped just short and felt her knuckles break against some invisible force that separated her from her opponent.

"**Don't underestimate me! You are in my mind with my rules!"** Kasumi fumed, her eyes glowing white and to their surprise her voice was twinned with Ayame's.

Light blazed around them as echoes formed from the ice cracking over the lake of chakra. More and more chakra burst forth from the cracks and encased Kasumi in a glowing radiance that struck fear into the hearts of Kaito and Yuka. Her hand rose gracefully and with it chains of chakra bound her enemies into submission.

"**Why would you want to open the gate? Why would you want countless demons to ravage this world?"** Their voices asked rage resounding in their words.

"Because they would end it!" Kaito answered with venom in his breaking voice.

"This world, it's harsh and painful and too much to bare. It took everything that I had and left me to perish. My wife was taken by plague in our village that had only just started to recover from the third 'great' ninja war! What is so great about war? Then my daughter was attacked, raped and killed by bandits. So what in this world is worth saving? Why should it continue to exist if there is so much suffering?" He began to sob as his past began to replay through his mind over and over. Yuka looked away from him with disgust written all over her face.

"**For every tear there is a smile, for every scream there is laughter, for all sadness there is happiness and for all death there is birth. This is the balance that rules the world, it may not seem fair but it never claimed to be so. Life is not fair." **Kasumi looked at him with sympathy. **"Taking your pain out on the world is not what your family would have wanted." **Kaito looked up at her with tears pricking his eyes, and then Kasumi noticed that Yuka was gone. **"Looks like its time to wake up."**

**

* * *

**

Kasumi's eyes fluttered open to see Gaara's worried teal eyes. She smiled but suddenly winced as she felt bolts of pain coursing throughout her body. After attempting to sit up on her own Gaara helped her up and supported her. She then noticed Yuka struggling in the iron grasp of Sasuke and Kaito being punched in the face by Naruto.

"Naruto! Stop!" Kasumi cried as Naruto froze beneath him she could see that Kaito was knocked out cold. She sighed and slumped on Gaara. His hand gingerly placed upon hers as she snuggled into his chest, she was so tired.

"Hey, Sakura." Kasumi spoke softly gaining the kunoichi's attention. "Do you think you could get these bloody needles out of me." She said before she passed out due to exhaustion. The group sighed, glad that she was safe and that the world had not come to an end, which they would have to ask her about after they got her to Konoha hospital.


	21. Comatose

Beams of light streamed down through the blinds and roused Kasumi. Her eyes fluttered open to see the dull white of a hospital ceiling. She grunted as sharp pains echoed through her body as she attempted to sit up. A gentle hand supported her back, shifting her and finally placing her upright against a pillow. With heavily lidded eyes she scanned the figure beside her for any clue as to who it was. Her hand lifted limply and gently caressed the dark circles that lined his teal eyes. Her bandaged fingers became damp as she felt hot salty tears stream from his relieved eyes. His pale hand grasped hers as he leaned into her touch as if he were taking in it all. A small smile graced her lips as she felt his hot breath through the bandages. Then she felt herself slipping into sleep once again.

"Don't… don't leave me…" She breathed before slumping back into her dreamless state.

* * *

"_**Cub… cub…"**_ Kasumi slowly sat up finding she was once again in her mindscape. Ayame was sat besides her emitting a feeling of warmth and comfort that she found only with two people.

"_**You did very well Cub. The danger from my vision has been averted and you yourself are safe." **_Ayame stood and towered over Kasumi.

"You've gotten bigger." Kasumi stated flatly.

"_**Yes cub, that is because I shall be leaving you." **_Kasumi stood immediately and stood before Ayame.

"What do you mean? Your undoing the seal? That will kill me!"

"_**Hush now Cub, I created this seal that means that I know how to undo it with out harming you. Although that won't make you safe, you still have the chakra and gate within you but I believe that you will be fine without my guidance."**_

"Please don't leave me… I don't want to be alone." Kasumi pleaded with dulled eyes. The she wolf approached her and lowered her head into Kasumi's arms.

"_**Cub," **_She said with a hint of laughter_** "You are not alone, you have your friends and a certain man who has not left your side since you asked him not to leave."**_ Kasumi's eyes widened at her words.

"Wh-what?"

"_**I can feel his presence now, every so often he will touch your hand, when you move he holds his breath hoping that you wake up." **_

"Gaara" Kasumi breathed with a smile.

* * *

A small smile formed on her sleeping face as she breathed out his name as a whisper but he heard it and a pink tint formed on his pale cheeks. He had been sat watching her for the past three days since they returned her to Konoha and were currently monitoring her in the hospital. Every so often she would mumble a few incoherent words or try to shift in her sleep. Sometimes he would gingerly touch her hand to comfort her in hopes that the contact would wake her again.

Naruto and Sakura had dropped by a few times to cheek on her progress but were met with the same sleeping figure. Others involved in the rescue also ghosted through but did not stay for very long. Even Sasuke appeared once for a few minute but left swiftly.

Gaara, even though the demon was removed, did not sleep very much and was permitted to stay with her for a few days before he had to return to Suna. He prayed that she would wake before he left, he did not want her to wake up alone and he did not want her to wake up to any other either.

Suddenly she began to convulse throwing the covers to the floor and Gaara off of his chair. He quickly stood reaching out to her in hopes of pinning her down until the convulsions stopped. She thrashed violently until a faint glow from her under shirt could be seen, as she jerked her top moved up to reveal her curse seal glowing brightly but soon it began to fade while a slim pillar of light pierced the ceiling disappearing into nothing along with the seal. Then she was still, a light sheen of cold sweat blanket her as her breathing slowed noticeably. Her lips trembled as if trying to form words but silence ensued until-

"Goodbye…" her words were but a whisper however to Gaara she may as well have screamed in his ear. Was she going to leave him? This woman who he had only just met but felt closer to than any he knew. His eyes softened with sadness as he gently clutched her hand.

* * *

She was alone now. Ayame had left her and it was painful, it was like a part of her was gone and had left a void in its place. She was out of danger but she didn't fell like it. She felt more vulnerable than ever before. Would she ever see Ayame again? She didn't know and that uncertainty consumed her. Kasumi didn't know if she even wanted to wake knowing that. She had been in the 'real' world for most of her life and all the trauma from that she could deal with, losing her father and then her hair. But being in the narutoverse had made everything seem like it had meaning, real meaning. Here she had been needed. Here she had been born and only just started to live. After being here for only a few months she had saved the world and what was she left with?

That feeling! It was there again, warmth that shot through her with vigour. It was as if she was being held gently by the hand, calming her and reassuring her restless mind. Maybe she could survive. Her dulled eyes surveyed her surroundings. There was nothing but eternal white. Even her shadow had abandoned her. Raising her hand she inspected it. There was no hand to hold just a warm tingling sensation. A flash of a hand appeared but quickly vanished. What had that been? Then again it appeared but this time an arm and slowly a figure stood beside her. Her eyes were still too fixated on the hand to see the face. Then another hand gently caressed her jaw and brought her gaze to his teal eyes. A smile so small it may not have even been there graced his lips as he looked at her. He leaned in and placed a soft lingering kiss on her lips. Her eyes then snapped open.

* * *

He had to leave now, Suna needed their Kazekage and he had been gone for too long. Kasumi was still in a comatose state and the nurses had said that she may never wake. They were going to take her off life support and let her go. He couldn't be there when they did it so he decided to leave that night. His things were packed and he had returned to the hospital one last time. Nothing had changed since he had left her but an hour before. She was still and taking in slow shallow breaths. He took his seat once again; he had an hour before he was due to leave. Gently he placed his hand in hers and felt a chilling cool. Were the doctors right? Was she a lost cause? He didn't like to think so but reality was slowly dawning on him. Maybe her injuries were worst than they had thought. Had that light been Ayame leaving her? Did she know Kasumi's fate? Slowly he stood releasing her hand turning towards the door. Then he span around took her hand again and leaned down placing a tender kiss on her chapped lips. To his surprise he felt arms wrap around his neck and holding the kiss in place. He softly pulled away and stared into the sparkling eyes that he had been waiting so long to see again.

"Morning." The word sounded awkward and raspy but they had come from her.

"Good evening." He responded glancing out the window revealing a midnight blue sky and scattered stars. Her shoulders shrugged as she sat up slowly.

"Geez, how long was I out?" she asked after noticing her wounds had healed and her joints were stiff from lack of use.

"A while." He smirked leaning down to hug her delicately. Her eyes flickered to his packed belongings by his chair.

"Sorry about that, were you going to go back soon?" He nodded once in response. He was about to speak again when they were interrupted by a nurse.

"Kazekage-sama your escort has arrived is there-" She stopped mid sentence when Kasumi was noticed.

"'Sup, can I get something to eat? I'm starving!" Kasumi wondered why she looked so stunned but ignored it after her stomach decided to let its neglect known. The nurse seemed flustered before she gathered herself, nodded and left in search of some food.

"Kasumi?" Gaara asked rather uncertainly.

"That's me. What's up?" She smiled brightly as he seemed to become reluctant to speak.

"While you were in the coma… I have never felt so… I don't know how to describe it but all I know is that I don't like the feeling." She nodded encouraging him to continue. "well, I decided that if, no, when you awoke I would never leave you again. I want you to return to Suna with me. I want you to return to Suna with me and be mine." Kasumi didn't know how to respond. Not trusting her own words she simply nodded and kissed him intensely. When they stopped for air Gaara smirked. "I'll take that as a yes then."


End file.
